Reaching for Perfection
by AyameRose
Summary: After completely dominating the American Junior Tennis Circuit for nearing 5 years, the Echizen twins and their family decide to return to their father's childhood home in Tokyo where the twins will attend Seigaku in hopes of finding more interesting and exiting opponents. Follow them through their journey to conquer Nationals and achieve their dreams.
1. Genius 1- The Echizen Twins

**AN) Greetings readers! I am proud to present **_**Reaching for Perfection**_**, my first ever Prince of Tennis fanfiction. There will be very little romance in this story, just a little bit at the end. If I do have a sequel, however, then it will definitely have more romance. This story covers all of the Prince of Tennis storyline up through Nationals until just before the New Prince of Tennis story including OVAs (If I do make it that far, then the New Prince of Tennis and beyond will be my sequel.)**

**AN2) This is a re-upload of my story because I now have a Beta Reader! Thank you 100 times over to **redxbloodxblackxdeath**!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Prince of Tennis' characters or story line, however, anything about my OC is completely and totally mine with little to no input that comes from outside of my brain.**

"Talking in Japanese"

"**Talking in English**"

_Thinking_

**Genius 1- The Echizen Twins**

Two kids sit on a train traveling through Tokyo; if someone looks closely, then they would see that these two kids have nearly identical faces. At first glance, one would think they were exactly the same, except for one boy having an angular face and a Fila cap covering messy greenish-black hair, while his twin's looks were softer with just a touch more femininity with long bluish-black hair pulled back into a low ponytail and a wide white hair tie and wearing a single tennis glove on his left hand.

The boy with the cap seems to be asleep, but his twin is watching in silence as a high school student shows off his knowledge of tennis to his friends. The boy is talking loudly about the different kinds of grips, while swinging his racket dangerously close to the face of a young girl. The girl, while being too scared to speak up, repeatedly has to move backwards in her seat to avoid the swinging racket. The boy with long hair continues to stare at the outspoken high school student and nudges his twin. Without looking up from his sleeping position the capped boy speaks up, "Yo, can't you keep it down?"

All of the kids and teenagers turn their attention to the cocky sounding pre-teen who is now looking up at the high school kids with a bored expression. The train rattles, and the boy who was swinging his racket drops it, while laughing at how embarrassing it was to get told off by a little kid. He goes to pick it up, and the capped boy speaks up again, "Bingo!"

Everyone looks at the twins as the blue-haired boy begins to speak, "The grip you have on the racket now, is the correct Western grip. The handshake one you were talking about earlier is the Eastern grip. It's common for people to confuse them, though, so don't worry."

The train stopped moving, and both twins stand picking up large professional-looking tennis bags before leaving the train. The girl, who had been dodging the racket, lets out a sigh of relief when the high school students also get off on that stop before jumping up and hurrying off the train just before it leaves. She stands waiting for her grandmother as the two boys who saved her earlier walk up.

"Um… which was is the Kakinokizaka Tennis Garden?" one of the boys asks.

"Oh! I'm going there too!" she nervously stutters; both of these boys are ridiculously good looking even with one having an apathetic look on his face and the other slightly smiling at her.

"Are you going to be in the match? This is my first time watching tennis."

"So which way is it?" rudely deadpans the boy with the cap. His brother glances at him before turning back to the girl and shrugging.

"Ah, I'm sorry just… exit from the south gateway, and you should see it pretty quickly."

The one with the cap nods and walks away while his twin stays behind for a second.

"Thank you," he turns around and calls over his shoulder, "I'm glad you didn't get hit by that idiot's racket."

As the boy was walking away, she sees that his bag says Ryota E. and his twin's says Ryoma E.

"So their names are Ryota-san and Ryoma-san…"

The twins walked around for about ten minutes before asking for directions from a man running a produce store.

"Oh, you're on the wrong side of the train station. Go back there, and go around to the north entrance, and from there it's about a block away."

"Thanks sir!" both boys nodded before quickly walking back the way they came. When they got to the courts, Ryoma had missed his game and was defaulted, while Ryota only had five minutes to warm up. Both boys found a grassy tree, and Ryoma lay down to go back to sleep, while Ryota began stretching. After five minutes, he stands up and waves when he sees the girl from earlier coming. He walks to his court just as they began to call for the two players.

Ryota POV

I pull out my hair tie and move my waist-length ponytail up to sit higher on my head, similar to a samurai's as my opponent steps up onto the court. He is tall and broad-shouldered, _probably a strength-type player._ He stares at me for a second before loudly asking where his opponent is.

"I am Echizen Ryota."

"What? You?" he shakes his head and starts laughing, "I'm sorry little girl, but this is the U-16 division in a BOYS tournament, and I don't want to hurt you. Are you sure you didn't sign up for the wrong tournament? The U-10 tournament is over there on Courts A and B."

"I am 12, and this is an Under-16-year-old tournament so I can legally sign up for it… and I'm a boy."

"Alright, alright," he raises his hands in the universal position for surrender still slightly smirking. "I'll go easy, so I don't hurt you."

"If you wish, but I would suggest playing me seriously. Which?"

"Smooth."

I spin my racket and it lands on smooth. "How about I let you serve the first game since I'm so nice." He arrogantly states.

"Fine by me."

I take the ball and go back to the baseline waiting for the referee to call the game.

"Best of a one set match, Echizen service play."

I toss the ball up in the air and serve it at about half speed, which is what the average twelve year old can serve at their hardest. My opponent easily returns it, and I can already see that he thinks this will be an easy win. We rally for a while before I let him get a point further boosting the idea that while I seem to be skilled for a twelve-year-old, but it will still be an easy win for him.

"Love, 15."

I serve again this time slightly harder letting my body warm up and get used to the new rhythm. We rally, and, again, I let him get a point.

"Love, 30."

This goes on until he wins the first game. _Warm up complete._

"One game to love, Yakomo service."

He serves slightly harder, and then I was effortlessly returning the ball. This seems to surprise my opponent since he lets the ball go by, and I get a point.

"Love, 15."

He serves again, and; again, I return it. This time he's ready for me, and we begin to rally. I steadily make my hits harder and faster, until he is sweating and I am hardly winded. I begin to stagger where I am hitting the ball, which made my opponent run back and forth across the court, but he doesn't seem to realize my trap. _I really hope Oyaji's old school has people stronger than this or this whole move would have been worthless._ I win the game this same way, and, by the end of his service game, he is sweating buckets and panting like a dog.

"One game all, Echizen to serve."

_Time for a little psych out._

"Warm up complete," I call out barely loud enough, so that the observers and my opponent can hear me. Before I serve, I notice a commotion going on at Court F. _W__ell, it seems like Ryoma is going to have some fun today after all. I better finish this fast._ I serve at 80% of my normal speed, stunning my opponent when it goes whizzing an inch away from his right ear hitting just shy of the base line.

"15 to love."

I keep sending 80% serves and eventually we get a volley going, my opponent is keeping up with the pace I set but I can tell it is difficult for him. I win the game and continue to win point by point until it is the match point and my serve. My opponent looks ready to collapse; I smirk and make sure to catch his eye from between my bangs. I throw the ball up higher than I have been the whole game and jump hitting the ball at full power directly between his legs.

"Mada mada dane."

We both walk up to the net and shake hands.

"W-who are you? Where did you learn to play like that?"

"Echizen Ryota… temple." I turn my back and hold on my shoulder and walk off the court.

Sure enough, when I arrive at the court that has the commotion surrounding it, the main attraction is Ryoma. My brother is playing against the annoying guy from the train. Just as I arrive the guy throws his racket at Ryoma.

"RYOMA!"

The racket hits him in the forehead, and I feel a spark in my own. I enter the area, but I don't go onto the court as Ryoma falls to his knees, and the annoying guy picks up his racket saying he slipped. The girl from the train enters the court, and I can't help but frown. That's extremely disrespectful, but I can let her slide since she did say this is her first time watching, so she doesn't know the etiquette yet. Sure enough, Ryoma sends her off the court and stands and insults him about his grip. Again. _Ryoma will never change… then again he wouldn't be Ryoma if he wasn't a confrontational brat._ Ryoma uses his Twist Serve and from there the game is incredibly one sided, until the annoying-train-guy's friends drag him off the court. They pass me, and I look coldly into his eyes, "You are my opponent in the next round, and you just injured my twin brother, insulted tennis by using your racket in such a manner and are exhausted… I suggest you forfeit because I guarantee that I will show you no mercy."

During the wait where I would have played that guy before the finals, I first bandaged Ryoma's forehead before going to the drink machine and getting us both drinks, water for me and Ponta for Ryoma. Ryoma lies back down to sleep, until I finish playing, and I go to watch the other semi-final match and see who my opponent will be in the finals. The two boys that are playing look like high school students one is tall and serious with short black hair and the other has broader shoulders, but he is also shorter. The shorter guy seems to be taunting the serious guy but is slightly higher in skill. _He will probably be my next opponent, but we'll see._ Just as predicted, the shorter guy won, and they gave us a ten-minute-long break before the finals match. I focus on my game and enter the court; when the match is called, I walk up to the net to face my opponent.

His first reaction is similar to my first opponent's… he laughs before starting to yell rather loudly.

"You have got to be kidding me! THIS is my opponent? Some 8-year-old girl?"

_What is with everyone thinking I'm a girl… and that I'm under 10!_

"Kazuaki-san, I am twelve, which fits the parameters of this tournament as it is Under-16, and I am a boy. Please, don't insult me again it is getting pretty repetitive."

"PLEASE! What does a twelve year old know about tennis?! This is what? Your first year learning? How did you even get into the finals?"

"I defeated my opponents same as you," I looked at him through my bangs with the same smirk I gave my first opponent, "and the same way I will defeat you." My tone never fluctuated because it is a fact, I will beat this boastful jerk.

"You little brat," he seethed. _Perfect._

"Which?"

"Rough."

The racket landed on rough and, unlike my last opponent, this guy took the ball and went to the baseline. His grip around both the ball and racket were unnecessarily tight showing his anger.

"Best of a one set match, Kazuaki to serve."

This time I held nothing back, right off the bat I was playing at 100% even though I wasn't using my dominant hand. I wouldn't need it with this joker. The match was quick and messy; I held nothing back and defeated my opponent effortlessly, leaving him in an exhausted pile in the middle of the court. I had toyed with him and run him ragged the entire match… pity though, I was letting off most of the pent-up stress that I had, which was probably rollover from that guy who hurt Ryoma. When the game is called as my victory, I return to where Ryoma is still napping under the same tree.

"Already done?"

"There was hardly any competition to begin with. I hope we find stronger people when we get to the school or moving away from America will have been pointless."

"Who knows, ready to go home?"

"Yep."

Arriving home, we quickly climbed up the temple steps and went to the house where Kaa-san and Oyaji were waiting. I took out my ponytail letting my long hair fall around my hips.

"Tadaima!"

"Okaeri," was the response from my mom in the kitchen. We went up to our room and both collapsed onto the bed, neither of us had a particularly grueling day but it just seemed to drag on making both of us tired.

"Ne, Ryoma?" the answering grunt made me giggle slightly, "What do you think Seigaku will be like?"

"I don't know, I guess we'll find out tomorrow though."

"Hm, I hope we find some strong opponents."

"That would be a nice change."

"Night Ryoma-nii-chan."

"Night Ryoko-imōto."

**AN: Sorry, if this chapter seems a little rushed, and I know that my ending might be a little confusing for some people, so I will clear up one thing and for any other questions please send me a review. Ryota and Ryoko are the same person, this will be explained a little bit more in the coming chapters so please bear with me. ANYWAY, please review, follow, and favorite my story! Any, and all, reviews will be taken as either the supportive compliments they are or constructive criticism, however, flames will be read and then promptly ignored. No one is forcing you to read my story, so if you don't like it then just stop reading.**

**BN: AKA the Beta's note! XD This is my first time Beta-ing, so if anyone catches a mistake, then please let me know, so I can fix it in the future! :D**


	2. Genius 2- Enter Seigaku!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Ryoma or any of the cannon characters/events of Prince of Tennis, only the events unique to my character (Ryoko/Ryota)! They belong exclusively to Takeshi Konomi!**

"Talking in Japanese"

"**Talking in English**"

_Thinking_

"_**Twin Speak"**_(talking at the same time)

_**Twin thinking**_(thinking the same thing)

**Genius 2- Enter Seigaku!**

The first day of school is always rough, but when transferring not only schools but also countries can really be a pain. For one going from no uniforms in America to the black high-collared suit uniforms of most Japanese schools is going to take some getting used to. Frankly I just can't get used to seeing myself dressed up like this. That's right, it is my first day of school and I have been standing in front of a mirror for the last 15 minutes just looking at myself in my new uniform. Black pants, black socks, black dress shoes, white button down collared shirt, and black high collared suit jacket. _I guess I look as good as I ever will._ I look down at my single gloved hand and hope they will let me keep my glove, if not… well I don't really want to think about that. "**Come on Ryoko, this won't be THAT hard.**" I take a deep breath go back to the bed where my brother is still sleeping. "Ryoma! Wake up! WE CAN'T FIND KARUPIN ANYWHERE!" He shot out of bed and looked frantically around before spotting our cat at the edge of the bed.

"That was cruel." He glared at me for even thinking of Karupin missing/lost/dead.

"It got you up didn't it? Come on I don't want to be late." I pull my long hair into a low ponytail, effortlessly changing into my male persona and head downstairs to where Kaa-chan was cooking with Nanako-nee-chan and Oyaji was reading the 'newspaper' again. "Baka Oyaji, you really shouldn't read that crap while there are ladies in the room."

"UNCLE!"

"HONEY!"

"Ah! Ryota you un-cute brat! Not they know I was reading! Why can't you go back to being by adorably wonderful daughter?"

"Because I am comfortable as a boy in public and because so far the only challenge I have found is with male tennis players. And you helped me create me boy persona so don't you dare complain."

"Here you go sweaty. Ryoma! Breakfast is ready!"

"Thanks Kaa-san! It looks wonderful."

"You two better hurry up and eat quickly or you'll be late for school."

"Thanks Nanako-chan, I'm just waiting for Ryoma to get ready." Just then Ryoma came down the stairs. _Speak of the devil and he shall appear._

"Ohayō" I laugh while my brother eats his food and goes through the same greeting I did with Oyaji.

"Come on Ryoma, we're gonna be late!"

"Ok then"

"_**Ittekimasu!"**__ we called before grabbing our bags and running to the bus luckily we made it. And so begins our first day at Seishun Gakuen._

* * *

"Hey you're the Echizens! Were in the same class right?" We both turned around at the loud voice following us through the halls. "You're going to be in the tennis club right? I'm Horio, I have 2 years of tennis experience so I will probably be able to be a Regular in no time." _Note to self… kid with annoying voice is called Horio._ "Did you know? This tennis club is really strong…" _Does this kid ever shut up?_

"Which way to the tennis courts?" Ryoma asked a 2nd year in an attempt to shut up Horio.

"Huh?" the sempai Ryoma asked looks down on us from his really tall height before pointing behind him. "The tennis courts? They're that way." Ryoma began walking to where the 2nd year pointed.

"Arigato sempai." I nodded before jogging to catch up with my twin. As it turned out, the OH SO HELPFUL SEMPAI gave us the wrong directions and we had to go back the other way. On top of that when we got there we found out that since the regulars are at a match registration isn't till tomorrow. _Great… I wonder if they will let us use a court while they are gone…_

"Hey are you guys joining our tennis club?" _what now? _ We looked at the two 2nd years that were approaching us as the other 1st years bowed formally with a chorus of "nice to meet you."

"Want to play a fun game with us?"

"What kind of game?" asked one of the other Freshmen.

"You will have 10 tries to know the can down with serves," the Juniors grinned at each other. "The prize is 10,000 yen each." _Sounds pretty easy so what's the catch?_ "200 yen per person to play."

"COOL!"

"10,000 YEN!"

"You don't have to tell ME twice!" _are all other 1__st__ years THAT dumb? There's obviously some kind of trick!_

We watched as all of the other 1st years tried and failed to even hit the can let alone knock it over. "I Horio with 2 years of tennis experience will now claim the 10,000 yen!" _**That idiot.**_ The first 10 tries were close but he didn't hit it until the last one where he accidentally hit it with the frame of the racket. The ball skimmed the can but didn't knock it over except that when it hit, the can made a weird sound. _I see now._ The other 1st years all went to pay and the 2nd years revealed that it was a 200 yen entrance fee with a 500 yen fee per ball. _They're just tricking 1__st__ years out of their money._

"Ne, Ryoma. Should we oust the mean Sempais who are taking all of the other's money?" he shrugged when one of the Sempais saw us and called over.

"Hey you two! Don't just watch, why don't you give it a try?"

"Yeah Echizens you have to try to! Or are you scared?"

"It's not that we can't," we both grabbed a racket and a ball as Ryoma began and I continued.

"but hitting that can normally,"

"wouldn't really work." We figured out years ago that people get confused when we speak back and forth like that.

"Ne Sempais," I began and we spoke in tandem for the rest.

"_**It is full of rocks right?"**_ Ryoma served first knocking just at the top of the can to knock it over and reveal the rocks inside it. I followed up hitting it again making it fly through the air and then Ryoma hit it again. We hit it again and again trading off hitting it again and again. _**"If we hit it 100 times will you give us 1,000,000 yen?"**_ Both 2nd years were staring with wide eyes as we hit it from different points in the air and it didn't fall back to the ground until it eventually hit the fence surrounding the courts.

"A-awesome!" I looked over to see all of the other Freshmen staring at us with stars in their eyes.

"Ne, Ryoma," I deadpanned looking at them, "I think we just gained some fanboys…"

"Che-"

"Excellent control…"

All of the sudden a ball came at high speeds and hit the can making a dent in it. We looked over to see the Sempai who told us the wrong directions before with a racket in his hand. "LUCKY! I HIT IT! I didn't think I'd be able to make it!"

"Momoshiro, you…"

"Hey," he looked over at the two other 2nd years, "guys, since none of the 3rd years are here you think picking on Freshmen is ok? You can't do that." Ryoma turned to leave the court and I smiled at the other Freshmen before following him. "and who said you two could leave?"

"Ryo-Ryoma?! Ryota?!" _oh it's the girl from the train that one time…_

"I see now, you're the Freshmen Ryuuzaki-sensei told us about. Echizen Ryoma and Echizen Ryota." He grinned at us. "I'm Momoshiro Takeshi! 2nd year. Want to play a game?" We glanced at each other and shrugged. I nodded to Ryoma and he took it as his queue to take the challenge.

"Ok, let me go get changed."

"Echizen! Are you really going to play a 2nd year Regular?"

"I heard from the old lady that you can use a Twist Serve?" we looked up at Momoshiro's question and Ryoma nodded.

"WHA! REALLY?!" Horio shouted. _So maybe he does know something… even if his voice is really annoying._

"What's a Twist Serve?" I let Horio explain it while I silently went to sit on the Umpire's Chair.

"Hurry up and start." _Heh, Ryoma's getting impatient. _

"Fine, which?"

"Smooth."

"Too bad, it's Rough. But I'm going to let you serve. Show me that Twist Serve!"

"Best of one set match! Echizen to Serve." And so it began. Ryoma started with a normal right-handed serve to test Momoshiro's reflexes. I could hear people exclaiming at how fast it was. _Heh, that's only about 85% but he must be taking this more serious than normal. He usually starts at about 70% where I prefer to play with my prey for a while Ryoma usually just goes in for the kill but 70% is usually enough… I wonder if anyone here will make us go 100%..._

"Don't be stingy. Use a Twist Serve."

"Yadda."

"15-love." Even though he said no, he still got into position for a Twist Serve. Even though he was expecting it, I could tell that Momoshiro was still surprised by the speed and force of Ryoma's Twist Serve. He tried to hit it but his racket was knocked out of his hand.

"Ah, scary."

"You ok?" Ryoma deadpanned and I saw Momoshiro chuckle.

"30-love." Ryoma used the Twist Serve again this time turning his body more to receive the weird angle of the serve. It still went out.

"So it's not just timing." _Of course it's not._

"40-love." Momoshiro tried to receive the serve again and again it didn't work.

"Game 1-0! Echizen leads."

They continued playing and Momoshiro got closer and closer to actually being able to receive the Twist Serve. _He learns fast, especially with that ankle. Heh, maybe there are strong people here after all._ Momoshiro finally hit the ball back but Ryoma successfully received the return. The very short volley ended when Ryoma hit a Drop Volley on his second hit after the serve.

"You know how to do that too! You are one scary Freshman!" Ryoma just got back into position and exaggeratedly switched so that he was finally holding the racket in his dominant hand. "That's it, I'm done. I don't want to play anymore." So he noticed the handicap Ryoma gave him… this is a Seigaku Regular, and not even at full strength. I wonder if there are others who are even stronger. Ryoma just nodded and left the court. Instead of following Ryoma like I normally would have, I decided to follow Momoshiro to where the 2nd years were gathered around him. They were complaining for letting the Freshmen "walk all over them." Then mentioning his injured ankle.

"No… he knew about it. That's why he played right handed." I chose this moment to step in.

"It's true," they all looked startled by my presence though it's understandable because while my brother had a very up front and blunt personality I usually choose to stay in the background and only show my true strength through tennis. A regrettable psychological "injury" that had never truly healed from childhood. "Ryoma was playing with his less dominant hand but in truth that wasn't the only handicap he gave you." Momoshiro looked surprised by this and so did most of the other 2nd years… the rest just looked angry. "Ryoma was only playing with about 70% of his normal right handed strength; we both use this as a tactic. That and the fact that we have run into very few people who can give us a real challenge at full strength. It is part of the reason we came to Japan… to find strong opponents who will push us into improving." All through the conversation I never once took my eyes from Momoshiro's.

"So Momoshiro-sempai, is there anyone both in this school and its opponents who can force us into improving our tennis?"

"Yeah there is… and I look forward to seeing you two go all out. Something tells me it will be rather spectacular. And call me Momo-chan."

I bowed formally and smiled sincerely up at the tall 2nd year, "Arigato Momochan-sempai." Nothing more needed to be said, I just hope his assumption is correct.

* * *

"I knew it." _So he's at it again… does this idiot ever shut up? I've only known the guy two days and he is already straining my nerves. _"That guy Momoshiro has an injured leg, there's no way a 1st year could ever beat a Regular in a strait match. Echizen are you even listening?" From there Horio just went on and on about the Ranking Tournament coming up. He began telling a story about some really old, dusty racket they found in the club room before practice and I had to mentally sing the lyrics to All About Us by t.A.t.u. to block out the sound of his voice.

Ryoma and I look at each other, a silent agreement passing between the two of us, and we both move away from our overly loud classmate. We were about to begin stretching and warming up when a 2nd year approached us.

"Hey is one of you the Super-Freshman?" we look at each other.

"_**Super Freshman?" **_

"Ah!" I point at where Horio was still bragging about his 2 years of tennis experience. I shrug at Ryoma and we idly start hitting a ball back-and-forth between the two of us with about 7 feet in between us. After about 10 hits each we are going at a pace that is gaining attention. Without even thinking about it I add another ball so that both of us are hitting a ball at the same time every time we hit. Backhand. Forehand. Backhand. Forehand. We have done this as a warm-up we hardly need to think about it anymore.

Someone calls the end of warm-ups and we start running laps. Ryoma and I set a good pace, just fast enough that we will be able to keep this pace without tiring out. When we end our laps we are pretty close to the front of the runners. I idly watch as all of the other 1st years collapse and Horio exclaims loudly about how hard practice is. _**"Mada mada dane."**_

"50 sit-ups next for the Freshmen!" more exclamations arose and I almost laugh, they'll get used to it… eventually. I lie down and start my push-ups when Ryoma grabs my feet. He counts and I just let my mind wander allowing the familiar burn of working out wash over me. When I get to 50 Ryoma and I trade places doing exactly the same thing. Ryoma finished his curl-ups and the 2nd years from yesterday came up to us. The ringleader told us not to be arrogant just because we can play 'some' tennis. _We're better than you at least._ My attention however is pulled away when 7 new people in white jerseys step onto the courts.

The one in front has a bandana on his head and a scary look on his face probably a 2nd year. He is flanked by two taller boys, one with an egg shaped head and one who has spiky hair and glasses. Following them are Momochan-sempai from yesterday, a muscular but shy-looking boy, a boy with red hair that spikes out on the ends, and a boy with soft looking features and light brown hair. They pass the not-really-a-fight without even blinking, they are all carrying professional looking bags like Ryoma and I. _So these are the Regulars, if anyone is strong here it will be them._ We bow along with everyone in greeting. "Cheers."

The one with the egg-shaped head turns to us 1st years and tells us we can use an open court to practice swinging. The soft-looking one calls over his shoulder that they should probably do some warming up too before moving onto Court A.

The Regulars begin a warm-up where the kind one from earlier lobs it and the others have to smash the ball back into the basket by his feet. A simple exercise, but one that is impressive to people without as much experience and accuracy. Also an appropriate warm up as it is not too strenuous but gets one's muscles moving. Just then the kind one's voice rises above the sound of their warm-up. "Ah, to high!"

The ball comes straight toward Ryoma and me, with a small movement of my wrist I indicate to Ryoma that I am getting the ball and he backs off. _Heh… you got to show off yesterday, now it's my turn._ I smash the ball directly back into the basket and turn to Ryoma. "That's not so hard." The 2nd year from earlier approached us angrily and grabbed me by the front of my shirt.

Subconsciously I freeze. There was nothing to feel just yet in the chest area so he wouldn't find out I was a girl… but I still froze. I can feel my body begin shaking and without truly registering what I was doing I strike out at him with a yell. My hand collides with my not-attackers face and I fall backwards onto the court. I don't open my eyes or move registering the shocked silence that follows my outburst until-

"No fighting on the courts!" the commanding voice jolts me from my partial flashback and I look in relief at my savior, I see a boy who honestly looks more like an adult. Everything about him seems to command respect. _Is this our captain?_

"Buchō!" everyone bows again. "Cheers!"

"As penalty for disrupting practice both of you run 10 laps." Without a word I get up and begin running at a medium pace. It won't due to exhaust myself, but I can use this time to cool my head. I idly note that because of the 2nd year's whining we both have to do 20 and keep running.

_I haven't had a subconscious flashback like that in years…_ I finish my laps pretty quickly and go to get my racket when I notice not only my own bag, but also Ryoma's has gone missing. Silently I walk up to my brother and ask him if he moved them, when he looks at me surprised and shakes his head I begin to look around in earnest. If Ryoma didn't move them than there is a good chance that it was one of the older students. _Probably the one that grabbed me earlier. _I let my confusion show on my face and sure enough the 2nd year from earlier comes up to me.

"You've got some nerve coming to practice without a racket 1st year!" he grins maliciously and I just stare at him. Sometimes no response is even more infuriating than one. Ryoma and I both carry around at least two rackets everywhere we go… sometimes three. All of our rackets are very expensive and strung precisely for us. Usually it is Ryoma who is the confrontational brat, but with my tennis gear I can get rather possessive.

The 2nd years jeer and tease but I know it will be me who has the last lap so I stay quiet. "If you're so confident play me now! Use this one instead since your precious rackets are not here." At his smug smile I looked down at the racket to see that it is not only dusty, it also has almost no string tension… and thus is almost impossible to play with.

"Hey that's the crappy old racket from before club started!"

"The strings look pretty loose."

"Nobody could use this thing!"

As the other 1st years fretted around me I looked at Ryoma to see him glaring up at the 2nd year from underneath his cap. I held out a hand and he relaxed his pose into the cocky one he usually takes and instead smirks up at the older boy.

"What's wrong? Afraid to play me 'Super Freshman'?"

"That racket suits a 1st year better."

"Maybe you'll learn not to show off now, ne?"

"And who knows maybe your oh so precious rackets will show up?" the 2nd years began laughing and both Ryoma and I tightened our fists. I tighten my hand around the racket handle and go to the baseline.

"Usually when someone resorts to dirty tricks," This makes the 2nd years stop laughing and look at me. "It means they're weak."

"What are you saying 1st year? That I hid them?"

"Betsuni." Now he just looks angry. "You wanted a game? So play me!" I look into his eyes and I can see that now he's not so sure. When Ryoma and I are angry our eyes tend to glow and be pretty intimidating so I'm not all that surprised.

"Alright shrimp, if you want to be torn apart." _Posturing._

"Ne, Sempai! Let's have a little bet. If I win then you have to formally return my brother's and my rackets to us. If you win I will never bother with you guys again and will just act like a perfect little submissive Freshman! How about it?" He looks hesitant but gives in.

"Fine brat." I nod my head and take out my low ponytail gathering my hair instead in the high one I use for tennis matches. I know I look strikingly similar to my father in his prime just with longer not as messy hair but somehow I really don't care.

He serves first and I easily get to the ball to return it but it hits the net because there's no spin. I test the strings and this time hit it with more force. The ball hits the fence. I play with the strings some more just for show; I know that I need to find some other way to put spin on the ball. Maybe if I twist my body. "So that's how it is…" I see my opponent's eyes widen at how unworried I am. _Heh, he's probably expecting me to break down and cry._

When he hits his next serve I advance on the ball and pivot my body at my knees letting the ball roll along the racket face to forcibly make it spin. A perfect slice. I listen to the comments from the Regulars conversing about how I did it and the crowd around me about how the hit was SO fast… it was pretty slow compared to normal.

"Ugh, that was slow. Stupid racket." I mutter just loud enough for everyone to hear. This just seems to anger the 2nd year more. _Perfect._

From there I won the game easily not letting the 2nd year win a single point against me even with the bad racket.

Many people have tried to use intimidation tactics or nasty tricks against my brother and I in the past. Somehow they always end up getting thrown in the person's face making them look really stupid. Like the guy from the train the other day.

My eyes zero in on a ball that fell out of his pocket just between my opponent's feet and I feel myself smirk. My next lands directly between his legs and knocks the offending ball away. The 2nd year falls to the ground seemingly in shock.

"Ah, Echizen! Your strings are broken!"

"Hn, so they are." I look over into the other court to see my opponent STILL sitting on his butt. "Are you done then Arai-sempai? Cause if you want to play more you should get up." He got to his feet and in position on shaking legs. _Well I can give him credit for perseverance at least._ "Ok, my warm-up is done."

"Come on Sempai! Lets finish this!" he backs up shaking his head and some of the other 2nd years urge me to end the game. "Yadda, not until the game ends or Arai-sempai gives me back my rackets."

The nice Regular from before comes out and reprimands us for breaking club rules making us run more laps. Oh well, at least I got to play SOME tennis today… "Mada mada dane."

* * *

At the end of the day Arai formally apologizes to both of us for taking our rackets and gives them back. I look at his face to see that while he is still scared and embarrassed he is sorry for taking the rackets. "These rackets are specially strung for me and are pretty expensive to replace. That's why I was so angry and embarrassed you. It's nothing personal except that you took my rackets." He nods his head tentatively and we walk away.

As we leave the club room I think of something. "Hey, Ryoma go on without me I'll catch up." He nods and I run back towards Ryuuzaki-baba's office. When I get there she's looking at a set of charts.

"Ne, Ryuuzaki-baba?" she twitches at the name but says nothing.

"Yes Ryoko what can I do for you."

"I would like permission to be the Regular team's manager for the month. I would like to participate in the Ranking Tournament but can I wait for a month please? I would like to get to know the team better." She looks at me then down at the charts she's holding.

"Do you know what these are Ryoko?"

"No Sensei."

"These are the official slots for our Ranking Tournament that starts tomorrow. Both you and your brother are already on this and it's difficult to take someone off."

"Gomenasai for the trouble Sensei." The door opens behind me and I see the captain looking at me.

"Is there a problem?"

"I would like to be taken off the Ranking Tournament."

"Why."

"Because while I know that I am strong enough to be a Regular on your team I would prefer time to get to know the team before truly joining. Ryoma will still be able to become a regular but I would prefer to be the team's Manager until the next Ranking Tournament. When I play on the team I would like to be able to say that I am playing with my own style of tennis."

He kept his face strait but I could see that my last sentence confused him somewhat. "Alright, Sensei please trade out Echizen Ryota and Mikami Kōji on the line up."

"Arigatō Tezuka-buchō." I bow to him before leaving the room to catch up with my brother. _Even if I can't play tennis as much in the beginning I think this will be just as much fun._

* * *

**AN) The first thing I want to say is THANK YOU to all the people who favorite/followed my story!**

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**Thank you all for reading my story! Onto thing two! With all of these wonderful readers… not one review. *pout* Guys I won't nag for reviews I PROMISE but I do enjoy them, they give me advice or criticism that I do actually use to make my story better for all of my readers so PLEASE review even if it is just "Hey I really like this story keep going!"**

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	3. Genius 3- Ranking Tournament

**Disclaimer: I do not own Prince of Tennis or any of the canonical events of the manga or anime. I do however own anything or any changes made because of the insertion of my character Ryoko/Ryota!**

"Talking in Japanese"

"**Talking in English**"

_Thinking_

"_**Twin-Speak"**_

_**Twins Thinking**_

**Genius 3- Intra-School Ranking Tournament!**

I watch as my brother literally obliterates his first two opponents in the Ranking Matches and have to hold in a laugh. _Any who questioned his right to be on that list aren't talking now~_

"What I don't understand is why you aren't on the board if Ryoma-kun is." Kachiro comments while I write down Ryoma's second no-point win of the day.

"Is there a question in there somewhere Kachiro-kun?"

"Do you know why you aren't?" he looks at me and I forcibly turn my giggle into a chuckle.

"It's because I asked to not be put on until next month."

"Why would you do that?"

"Well I will be serving as the team and club's manager until the Ranking Tournament next week because I want to be able to get to know the players and their strengths before I reveal any of my skills." I smile at my fellow 1st year before leaning back in my chair and watching as people pass by my station. "I will be training with the Regulars and attending all matches but instead of actually playing I will be helping Tezuka-bucho and Ryuuzaki-baba." He nods but still looks pretty confused.

"But didn't you come so that you could play strong opponents?"

"Hmmm, yes but I also don't think that the current Regulars would like it much if all of the sudden two 1st year upstarts beat two of them out of their ranks four days after the start of a new school year." He hums at this like it makes more sense.

"You seem pretty certain Ryoma-kun will win and that you would if you were playing."

"Ryoma-niichan and I rarely show all of our skills, I think as long as we don't underestimate our opponents we could beat most of the Regulars with a few exceptions. It would be difficult no doubt but we could do it." I look at him to see him frowning. "I don't know all of their skills yet so I can't really say for certain who those exceptions would be just yet though."

"Ryoma-kun doesn't really seem to care that he doesn't know any of the Regulars skills."

"You caught that huh?" I smile at the shy boy and shrug my shoulders. "It's one of the few differences between Ryoma-niichan and I, while Ryoma-niichan is the type to race ahead and never look back or charge strait into the heat I prefer to take the back rout and not show my skills until I can properly gauge my opponents strength."

"What about your match with Arai?"

"That was one of the few exceptions, he took my rackets that I am extremely protective of and thus angered me enough to make me act like just as much of a confrontational brat as Ryoma-niichan usually is."

"Ii data." I look behind me to see another Regular standing next to the bored.

"Is you're match finished Inui-sempai?" he nods and writes down a 6-0 in his score box.

"All of the Regulars seem to be getting that score, though I must say that the rest of the team is not very good if just comparing them to the Regulars." He nods. _That must be how it always is. _"Kachiro, it's lunch time. Inui-sempai would you take a turn watching the bord."

"You may go."

"Arigato Inui-sempai." We both bow and walk around to find Ryoma and the other 1st years talking about the matches. Well the others are talking; Ryoma is reading a tennis magazine. I sit next to Ryoma and he moves the magazine so I can see the article too. It's about how to do a Buggy-Whip-Shot, a useful move to know but it wouldn't really fit in with either of our playing styles. _So why is Ryoma reading it?_ The other 1st years start talking about a video one of them filmed of Ryoma's first Regular opponent, Kaido-sempai, so we both stand up to leave. _Videos like that are only useful if you have time to analyze their play-style which Ryoma doesn't have._

I leave Ryoma to warm up and go watch some of the other Regular's games. Momo_chan_-sempai from our first day is pretty good now that his injury is healed but if you look closely he is still slightly favoring his other leg. His interaction with two of the 3rd year Regulars, Fuji-sempai and Kikumaru-sempai, is funny but I don't comment. Ryoma come up behind me and I put my hand out without looking. He silently grabs it, laces his fingers through, and squeezes. _Good that means he is ready._

Momo-sempai comes up to us and we look up at him without releasing hands. "Yo, you're playing Kaido next, right?"

"… I guess."

"Watch out for him." _Does that mean he is one of the 'strong people' who will make us work to win? I guess we'll see._

* * *

It starts with both testing each other's reflexes and skills by hitting fast, but easy or slow but tough balls to see if there are any wholes in each other's defense. Ryoma gets the first point but clearly neither are willing to give an inch. _Somehow I think that this will become a battle of willpower._

Kaido pulls out a Buggy-Whip-Shot and I smirk. _So that's why Ryoma was reading about how to do that move. To be that proficient with it as a middle-school student is impressive. He must work hard._

"That's Kaido's Snake." I hear Momo-sempai tell the other 1st years and I grin. _I guess Snake is an apt name for that shot, I wonder how many of them know it already had a name…_ I can see that it's taking Ryoma a little while to become comfortable with the angle of Kaido-sempai's Snake but he should be able to hit it back cleanly after a few shots.

When he returns it everyone but the Regulars who are there seems surprised. When the match becomes 1-to-1 it really begins to heat up. Both players have each other in "traps" but Kaido doesn't seem to realize that while Ryoma has to run all over the court, he two is running out of energy quickly. "Echizen just fell into," again Momo-sempai's voice reaches my ear where he is explaining the game to the other 1st years. "Kaido's trap." _But Kaido-sempai has also fallen head first into Ryoma's._

Momo goes on to explain the true purpose of the Snake and Horio exclaims about how much Ryoma is sweating. I just laugh and get the attention of everyone watching. "Ryoma-niichan isn't the only one sweating." I say it quietly but the closest people too me all quickly look at the court and seemed shocked by how tired Kaido-sempai looks.

"Hey Kaido!" Ryoma's amused voice startles everyone who caught my comment, "It's pretty hot out, why don't you take your shirt off to cool down!"

"All those low, deap balls."

"…down by Kaido's feet…"

"he is having to keep his knees bent," I smirk at Inui-sempai and Oishi-sempai's back-and-forth, "Kaido is losing stamina twice as fast as normal."

"Echizen's turned this game into a war of stamina." Momo exclaims to the other 1st years.

"Not only that." They all look at me, "Ryoma has known from the very beginning that Kaido's Snake is a trap but Kaido had no idea that Ryoma was turning the trap around against him. This is incredibly psychologically damaging for a player and that will have an impact on how well Kaido plays."

"You mean Echizen let himself fall into a trap? Did he know Kaido would use the Snake?"

"From the very beginning."

"You fell victim to your own trap, Kaido." Tezuka's voice came from right behind me.

"Konichiwa, bucho."

"Konichiwa, Manager-san."

"The Snake is just another form of" Ryoma gets into position, "Buggy-Whip-Shot right?" as he says it, Ryoma returns Kaido's serve with his own finishing move stunning everyone watching the game.

"THAT WAS THE SNAKE!"

"How does he know it?"

"Did he do that from just watching Kaido?"

"I read an article about it earlier in a magazine." He smirks, "Thank you for showing me the real thing, but it really is hard to do without a long reach."

"What did he just say it was?"

"Buggy-Whip-Shot." Inui informs all the confused onlookers, "Kaido's Snake is a variation of it, it takes a lot of technique and is not easy to learn." After Ryoma's display it was almost laughable how easily he won. Kaido's concentration was completely broken when Ryoma used the Snake and he really didn't stand a chance. "Match Set! Game won by Echizen, 6-4!"

I am surprised when Kaido starts bashing his own knee with his racket but none of the Regulars are so I guess it's something that he's done before and am amused to see him forego a handshake. I listen to everyone's comments about Ryoma and their confused ones about why I'm not playing but take them all in stride when Ryoma comes out.

"Good psychological play, but did you really HAVE to attempt the Buggy-Whip-Shot. That could have backfired on you nii-chan."

"Shut up otouto, it worked didn't it?" he smirks at me and I can only shake my head in return.

"It's too bad it doesn't work well with our play-style or I would find some way to incorporate it."

"Yadda." I look at him, "only once, it's not our move." He states looking at Kaido; I just shrug and ignore everyone's comments.

* * *

After practice ended that day I listened in amusement to the other 1st years argue about how well Ryoma will do in the next match against Inui-sempai while they sweep and pack up the nets. I gather any water bottles and towels left over to wash them and head back to the club room just as I hear Ryoma's comment.

"I lose every day." _That we do, whether it be to each-other or Oyaji. We lose all the time._ When I get to the club room I quickly put the dirty towels and bottles in their place before going to Ryuuzaki-baba's office for the key.

She's talking to a man who looks to be a little older than Kaa-chan. "I want someone like the players from years ago." He states, "I was a huge fan of Inaba and Fukuyama but I really want a player like Echizen Nanjirō." _So he's Oyaji's fan… heh._

"Ryuuzaki-baba! We're almost done cleaning up so I need the key!"

"BRAT! Don't call me that." I just grin at her and look at the man.

"Hajimemashite, my name is Ryota. Yoroshiku." I purposely leave out my relation to Echizen Nanjiro and turn back to Ryuuzaki-baba, "where is the key?"

"Here, bring it back when you're done locking up."

"Dōmo." Locking up doesn't take that long but by the time I return to Ryuuzaki-baba's office the man is gone. "Here, Ryoma and I are going home now." _I wonder who that guy was…_

* * *

The height difference between Inui-sempai and Ryoma truly is laughable but in the end won't make as much difference as some of my classmates seem to think. Because of Inui's height he will have a speed and jumping advantage, except that Ryoma plays me on a regular basis. While most of my "special moves" are similar or the same as Ryoma's, my play-style involves lots of jumping… and I can jump high. _Now Inui-sempai, show us your special tennis and let us judge if you will be a worthy stepping stone._ The game between Oishi-sempai and Tezuka-bucho was interesting to watch but I could tell that Bucho was holding back and Oishi's tennis seemed like it was missing something. He may have played perfectly but there were signs that his tennis was missing some vital piece it needed to be truly awe-inspiring.

I notice about half-way through the first game that there seems to be something fundamentally WRONG with the match, then I see it. Inui can predict the exact place and speed that Ryoma will return his hits. _But how?_ _How can Inui tell where Ryoma's shots will go? I usually can, but I have been playing Ryoma every three days for the last 6 years! How can he have Ryoma's style down just by observing 4 matches?_ The first game ends when Inui predicted that the ball would land exactly two ball spans down the net instead of across it.

"Maybe he's better than Kaido!" My attention is dragged away from my brother's game and to the other 1st year's conversation about the match when Horio says this comment. _Of course he's better then Kaido you Baka._

My thought is spoken allowed by a soft voice behind me. I turn to see another Regular. "Konichiwa Fuji-sempai."

"Konichiwa Echizen-kun," he turns back to my classmates, "against Kaido, Inui is 3-for-3." They seemed stunned by this revelation but I just nod and turn back to the match filing the information away for later. Inui starts talking to Ryoma telling him about how he has Ryoma's tennis all figured out with data he's collected by watching the four games Ryoma has played while at Seigaku and I raise an eyebrow. _He honestly thinks that he knows the extent of Ryoma's tennis… well too bad dude, you haven't seen ANYTHING yet._

"_**Heh… what a way to play."**_ Everyone looks at me with slightly wide eyes as Ryoma and I say the same thing. "That is probably the most annoying play-style we have ever seen, but not the hardest. Especially if some of the data is inaccurate." Ryoma faults on purpose on his second serve and I laugh. Again everyone looks at me.

"Did Ryoma-kun just serve it into the net on purpose?"

"Yes," I smile at Kachiro-kun, of all of the other 1st years he is probably my favorite, "He was proving a point. There are always inconsistencies that data can't predict in sports. The fun part of playing is that we DON'T know exactly what will happen. Inui's 'data tennis' takes that away, it definitely is an annoying play-style."

"You two really hate losing don't you?"

"Of course," I smirk over my shoulder at the smiling sempai, "Only three people have ever beaten us and we want to keep it that way."

"But Echizen said that he loses all the time."

"Of course," the 1st years just look confused. "one of us loses every single day, our father beats us both every single time we play with him and on the off days we play each other. We have played a total of 1,005 games against each other. As of two days ago Ryoma has me beat 548-to-547." I smiled innocently and the other 1st years just stare at me agape.

"Then why aren't you playing?" asks Horio.

"Because I want time to get to know my teammates, I will be the team manager until the next ranking tournament when I will become a Regular."

"You seem certain that you would get a spot if you played."

"I am confident in my abilities, besides, I would only have to beat one Regular to become one as long as the Regular that I lose to also beats the Regular I beat. And that really depends on who is in my block. The only ones that I absolutely KNOW can beat me are Ryoma (and that's only a 50-50 chance) and Tezuka-bucho, the others I don't really know about so I can't tell who would win."

"Why Tezuka?"

"Because I know he is good if he's the captain of a team like Seigaku and he would either have had to work EXTREEMLY hard, have copious amounts of natural talent, or both to attain such a position." Fuji nods and we both turn back to the match when Ryoma starts laughing.

"I'm glad I came to Seigaku," Ryoma smirks, "It gives me a chance to beat every style." The comments immediately rose from the club members who had gathered around to watch. They weren't expecting him to be so certain he would win. He begins lightly jumping up and down and I smirk, _so that's the trick he chooses to pull out. Well it is the most appropriate I guess._ "I have been working on this step, I guess I can use it now even if I was hoping to save it till Nationals."

A statement like that is bound to raise some eyebrows and of course it did. When Ryoma started calling out the directions of the balls before Inui could it raised some more comments. "It's completely different than Inui calling out the percent chances and stuff he was earlier."

"How is it any different? Inui still knows and now it's just less work?" loudly questiones Horio.

"It's different because before Inui's calling was a psychological attack on Ryoma, now Ryoma has negated that. He is indirectly saying, 'I don't care if you know where I'm hitting it.'"

"Oh!" Ryoma finally got one past the tall 3rd year. It was out.

"I rushed it a bit, still not there yet I guess." He looks challengingly across the net at Inui, "but you knew it would be out didn't you Inui-sempai?" _Heh, no he didn't. But they both know that the real reason he didn't move is because he couldn't. With this Ryoma starts his counterattack._

"Who is that kid?"

I turn in the direction of the 1st years and see a woman holding a camera staring at my brother in awe. "That is my older twin."

"He's holding his own against a 3rd year Regular."

"Of course, and he will win this match."

"He is using the Split Step isn't he?" behind the woman is the man I met yesterday. _Huh interesting… is he a reporter?_

"Yep, we started learning it about a week ago and mastered it just before the Ranking Tournament began. But I think you will find that there is more to it than just a normal Split Step if you look hard."

"Split Step?" I let Horio do the explanation and turned back to the game lightly drumming on my leg with the fingers of my one gloved hand. When he started using the split step Ryoma's game sped up enough that unbalanced Inui-sempai's tempo he had set and gave Ryoma the chance to attack. _From here on out is when the game really begins._

The 1st years kept speculating about Ryoma and it finally came out about my and Ryoma's split-second prediction abilities denoting natural talent.

"I was stunned when I found out that ONE student in the Japanese Junior Tennis like that, but THREE is astounding."

"Three? Theres MORE kids like this?"

"Well from what Echizen-kun has said I can infer that both of them are at that level but Shiba you saw Kanto's top team yesterday, you remember their Junior Ace? You saw Rikkai Dai's Kirihara Akaya." _Kirihara Akaya huh? If what reporter-san is saying is true then I would very much like to play this Kirihara Akaya._

Inui started to mumble to himself numbers and calculations, probably trying to reconcile Ryoma's new-found ability to do a One-Footed Split Step with his original data. "Hey Inui! There's one more shot you know is coming but won't be able to hit!" _Ah yes, he hasn't used a twist serve yet and Ryoma just switched to his right hand._ "Even if you see it perfectly in your mind, you won't get there!" Some of the 1st years exclaimed in excitement when they finally pieced together what Ryoma was about to do.

Inui didn't hit it. He seemed honestly surprised when the ball jumped into his face. _Did Ryoma use the Twist Serve against Kaido? If not then Inui has truly never seen it before. Just proves, data sometimes lies_

"A Twist Serve?" the Reporter seemed stunned by the revelation that Ryoma could do a Twist Serve.

"Now that was impressive." _Ah I had almost forgotten that Fuji-sempai was watching the match._

"It loses power when hit from the right, I want it to knock your glasses off." He hit another Twist Serve that true to his word would have hit Inui-sempai in the face if he hadn't moved to intercept it. _Wrong position._ The ball was hard enough that with Inui's incorrect receiving position it knocked the racket clean out of the older student's hand. _**"Data only takes you so far."**_ The match continued until Ryoma won 7 games-to-5 games. " You're a good opponent but you style is really annoying. I never want to play you again."

"Echizen Ryoma, huh?"

* * *

At the end of the Ranking Tournament everyone was surprised to find that not only had Kaido beaten Inui but it would mean that Ryoma took Inui's spot as a Regular. "Seigaku will be stronger for this." Inui mutters smiling; _somehow I think he isn't just going to sit idly by until the next Ranking Tournament._

"Ne, Sempai." He turns to look at me. "I am going to be acting Manager for the team until the next Ranking Tournament, would you like to help me with the training program as a Training Instructor?"

"Sure, it would be a good way to collect more Data." _Somehow I knew he would say that._ I caught Ryoma's eye and let a slightly sadistic smile slide onto my face earning an involuntary shiver from my twin. _Yep this month will be fun._

* * *

**AN) Happy Thanksgiving to anyone from the U.S.A.! And thank you to all of my readers!**

**Thank You to my first reviewer: **redxbloodxblackxdeath

**And thank you to all of my new favorite/followers!**

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**I had a question come up about whether or not the teachers know about Ryoko actually being a girl and not "Ryota". For reference no they don't and I will explain how that all works in a later chapter. It might be a little while before that happens though so be patient please!**


	4. Genius 4- The District Tournament

**Disclaimer: I do not own any of the canonical events or characters of Prince of Tennis, the only thing that belongs to me is anything to do with Ryoko/Ryota.**

"Talking in Japanese"

"**Talking in English**"

_Thinking_

"_**Twin Speak"**_

Other Person on Phone

**Ring tone & Speakers**

* * *

**Genius 4- First Impressions and the District Tournament**

_ENTRY 1_

_Ryuuzaki-baba told me to write a notebook with my opinions on all of our players and significant opponents so this is the beginning of that. I have decided to start with our own players and then add any opponents of note when we face them. My first comment about the Regulars of Segaku is that for some reason it seems to be a requirement to be REALLY weird (bordering on crazy). Each Regular has his own individual style and techniques for tennis that make them sometimes act a little strange. I hope that when I develop my individual style I won't be that weird but knowing myself and Ryoma we will probably end up the same way. _

_So here are the Regular Tennis Players and other tennis club members of note from Seishun Gakuen:_

_Echizen Ryoma: 1__st__ year student and all-rounder. I know he's my brother but I felt it only fair to put him in here too. Ryoma and I were first introduced to tennis when we were 2, and first started to learn the game when we were 3. We began to play each other every single day when we were 7. We started playing competitively against other players on our 10__th__ birthday and until we enrolled in Seigaku we were each winning about 4 junior titles per year. Ryoma's tennis skills are almost a carbon copy of our father's style and techniques, mine is a little different. I know all of the techniques our father used (with the exception of the Samurai Zone) but my actual play-style uses jumping more than them and I prefer not to use the Twist Serve nearly as often as Ryoma. _

_Ryoma's main techniques are the Twist Serve and One-Footed Split Step. Personality-wise my brother is anti-social, provocative and confrontational most of the time but very protective of the things that he cares about and feels are his. These include: Karupin (his cat), his tennis equipment and me. Other than that all he thinks about is tennis, oh and Ponta._

_Momoshiro Takeshi: 2__nd__ year student and an aggressive baseliner. He is very tall and uses all that leg muscle to his advantage. His signature move is the Dunk Smash, a powerful smash that is similar to a Dunk in basketball. Momo uses his legs and jumps high in the air then uses the force of his jump to slam the ball back on the opponent's court. Personality wise he seems like a pretty cool guy and is a total sweetheart when he really wants to be. I can tell that he's quickly becoming really good friends with Ryoma and so far I fully approve. From what I can tell he has had an intense rivalry with our other 2__nd__ year Regular Kaidoh Kaoru since their first year at Seigaku. It will definitely be interesting to see where THAT goes. If not at practice Momoshiro usually is around hanging out with my brother; eventually they'll discover street tennis, then they'll probably never leave._

_Kaido Kaoru: 2__nd__ year student and counter-puncher. His nickname given to him by his rival, Momoshiro Takeshi, is "Mamushi" or Viper which is usually the start to some very interesting fights. He is definitely one of the more eccentric members. His eyes, posture, tennis-style, and speech all are snakelike which is the basis for the nickname. His signature move is the Snake, a variation of the Buggy-Whip-Shot. Able to do this tennis move because of his long arms, Kaido uses the Snake to wear out his opponent exhausting them until he is the winner of the match. For his personality, I think he likes to seem intimidating but in the end is actually very proper and shy. It's rather adorable actually. Kaido is a dedicated member of the team and spends more time than almost anyone on the team working out. The only one who beats him with the amount of time spent working out or practicing is Inui Sadaharu, Seigaku's former Regular and current Training Instructor. I think this may be in part because they were both defeated by Ryoma, a 1__st__ year, and had their biggest weaknesses pointed out by that same 1__st__ year. It is admirable that they are so dedicated to bettering their tennis-play._

_Kawamura Takashi: 3__rd__ year student and another aggressive baseliner. While he is normally gentle and kind of timid, when a racket or similar item is put in his hand he undergoes a complete personality reversal. He becomes aggressive and enthusiastic often shouting phrases in English like "__**BURNING!**__" and "__**GREAT!**__" He doesn't have any signature moves like the other Regular's but I definitely appreciate the honest hard work he puts into his tennis and the amount of heart he has. The Kawamura family owns a sushi restaurant that all of the other Regulars say is the best sushi in Tokyo. I for one can't wait to taste it._

_Fuji Syusuke: 3__rd__ year student and counterpuncher. Fuji is probably the player that confuses me the most, I just can't figure out how strong he is. And no one else seems to know either. Everyone goes on and on about how much of a genius he is, but no one can give me a definite answer about the true limits of his strength or abilities. To top it off I have yet to see the guy's eyes, while not truly important it still bugs me that he walks around with that damned smile and closed eyes all the time. I half hope he runs into a pole one of these days. On the other hand I really do want to play him if he is as strong as everyone says he is, and for some weird reason I want to play him BEFORE Ryoma does… I will have to figure out how to orchestrate this._

_Kikumaru Eiji: 3__rd__ year student and serve-and-volley player. Eiji (as he is called most often due to how many siblings he has) is definitely the most energetic person on the team. He uses his light body and gymnastics abilities on the court to create a very acrobatic play-style where he uses moves like hitting the ball behind his back or after jumping though the air. He and Oishi Shuichiro are the team's resident doubles pair and have been given the title "The Golden Pair". Though I have never been much for doubles I can't wait to see what watching a National Level doubles pair is really like. Eiji has never failed to give either me or Ryoma a hug the moment we step onto the court and any other time he can get one in. He has given us both the name "Ochibi" with the only difference being that I am Ochibi-chan and Ryoma is Ochibi-kun. At first hearing him call me that I internally started panicking thinking that he somehow had found out that I am really a girl but luckily he just decided to designate us as –chan and –kun as a differentiation. It seems that even as a boy I will always be the one people say is cuter… I'm not totally sure if it's because I am younger or if it's because I am more feminine, or a little of both._

_Oishi Shuichiro: 3__rd__ year fukubuchou and counterpuncher. Oishi is the playmaker in Seigaku's Golden Pair and the team's "Mother". He cares about our welfare and worries wholeheartedly for everyone in the club. Oishi has a natural instinct for playing doubles and always plays on the baseline. I haven't seen it yet, but he apparently has an awesome volley move. His tennis style is the perfect complement to Eiji's enthusiastic acrobatic style and his caring nature is perfect for his position of fukubuchou. I have said it before but I truly can't wait to see the Golden Pair playing to their fullest, I have seen how in-sync they are off the courts and I bet they could capitalize that on the courts in ways most other pairs can't even imagine._

_The final Regular is the captain: Tezuka Kunimitsu. 3__rd__ year student and all-rounder, Tezuka-buchou is thus-far undefeated by anyone in Seigaku. I have never even seen Buchou play but I bet it really is something to watch. He is left-handed like Ryoma and I, I wonder if he is nitouryuu like me or just a lefty… Either way he must be a very strong player, I doubt Ryoma and I as we are now could even beat him two-on-one. If anyone can make us stronger then it will be him. Personality-wise he is a very quiet and reserved person but a real slave-driver during practice handing laps to anyone who breaks a rule or disrupts practice indiscriminately. He is very well-respected by all the students and teachers at the school, a very fitting captain for our team._

_My partner in crime during practices and the Team's Training Instructor is ex-Regular, Inui Sadaharu. Inui is a 3__rd__ year student and the team's resident "Data Man". He takes a ridiculous amount of notes on all of the members of the club's lives and tennis-styles along with notes on anyone we will face. He then uses those notes to simulate what a match would be like and uses all of that data to predict how the opponent will play and their techniques. This is one tennis-style that I NEVER want to play because, frankly it's pretty boring and (according to Ryoma) REALLY annoying to play. Even though I never want to play him, I respect the dedication he has to both the team and his tennis. He practices over twice the amount that is given in the training schedule he made for all of the other regulars. I do about 1.5 times the amount and Kaido does almost exactly twice the regimen but Inui's practice schedule easily out-does both of ours._

_Some other club-members that stand out to me are:_

_Horio Satoshi: 1__st__ year student with a whole __**2 years**__ of tennis experience that he boasts about ALL the time. He is in one word: ANOYING. From his overly loud voice to that randomly colorfull shirt he wears during practice, for some reason I just find him incredibly irritating._

_Katou Kachiro: 1__st__ year student and probably the most adorable person in the club. Though he has no previous tennis experience, he works hard at all of his Freshman duties and his conditioning training. If he keeps this up then there is a good chance he will be one of the Regulars when he's a 3__rd__ year. Definitely my favorite of the other 1__st__ years._

_Mizuno Katsu: 1__st__ year student. Of the "Freshman Trio" he is the one that stands out the least so I don't know much about him other than that he is, like Kachiro, inexperienced but dedicated to the club. I wonder how he will blossom in the future._

_Arai Masashi: 2__nd__ year student. Arai is probably the best of the non-Regular tennis club members, but thus far he hasn't shown me any extraordinary talents that could land him a spot as a regular. He is arrogant and kind-of a jerk but if he opens up a little more and gains some individuality to his tennis he will probably be a good player._

_Other than them I have not noticed anyone thus far who really stands out to me that is in the club. I have however noticed that Ryoma and myself have a quickly growing fan-girl population (Ryoma more so than myself THANK KAMI!). Two of these fan-girls are Osakada Tomoka and Ryuuzaki Sakuno (and yes she is Ryuuzaki-baba's granddaughter), Osakada is really loud and DEFINITELY a Ryoma fan-girl but I think Sakuno is pretty on the fence so it will be interesting to see if she ends up liking Ryoma more or me._

* * *

I put my notebook down with a sigh and look over at Ryuuzaki-baba who is busy making the line-up for the first match of the District Tournament which is two days from now. "Done baa-chan!"

"Don't call me baa-chan Gaki!"

"Gomen, gomen!" I laugh, "What do you have so far?"

"Only Singles 1 and Doubles 1 for sure." She groans leaning back in her chair, "Fuji will be Singles 1 and the Golden Pair for Doubles 1."

"So all that's left to place is Singles 2, Singles 3, Doubles 2 and a substitute. The last Regulars left are Tezuka-buchou, Taka-sempai, Momo-sempai, Kaido-sempai, and Ryoma-niichan. Why isn't Buchou playing Singles 1?"

"Because an old injury has been bothering him lately, it is almost healed but not quite. I'm waiting for his doctor's approval to put him into an actual game. The main problem is Doubles 2? We don't have another definite doubles team and none them have actually trained in doubles-play."

"That's true. This is harder than it seems isn't it? Why didn't you do this earlier?"

"I always leave it to the last minute because any day in practice one of the Regulars can show some new achievement that makes a decision for me and it's a pain to change the line-up after I have already made it."

"I see," I lean on my desk and cradle my cheek in my ungloved hand idly sketching on the cover of my notebook. "Who in that group knows anything about how to play doubles even if they don't have a definite partner?"

"Kawamura is the only ones other than the Golden Pair, Kaido and Momo haven't ever played doubles competitively and I have no idea about Ryoma. Does he play doubles?"

"Never."

"Really? You two never played doubles as a pair?"

"We probably could because we know each other's play-style so well but we have never tried because the opportunity never arose."** Show me what it's like To be the last one standing.** "Can I get that?" **And teach my wrong from right I'll show you what I can be.**

"Go ahead."

I take out my phone and check the caller ID. RYOMA ECHIZEN. _Figures, why would he be calling me though? I thought he went out with Momo-sempai for burgers…_ "What is it Ryoma?"

"Are you still there with Ryuuzaki?"

"Yeah why?"

"Have you done the roster for the match?"

"We're working on it right now, why?"

"Can you put me on speaker with Ryuuzaki?"

"Sure." I press the speaker button on my phone and put it on the desk between baa-chan and I. "You're on speaker Ryoma."

"Ryuuzaki-sensei do you have someone playing Doubles 2 yet?"_ Ryoma wants to play doubles?_

"No why?"

"Because we want to be put in as Doubles 2!"_ ok that was Momo-sempai… Momo-sempai and Ryoma playing doubles, something tells me this won't end well._

"I guess you can, is there a particular reason behind this sudden urge to play doubles you two?"

"REAL MEN PLAY DOUBLES!"_ real men? So those guys are just being macho… they probably lost at doubles and now want to prove that they can actually play it. Boys._ I face-palm and rest my elbow on the desk as Ryuuzaki raises an eyebrow.

"Just don't do anything stupid you two."

"We won't Baba!" **BEEP.**

"Why do I get the feeling that this won't be pretty?"

"Because it most likely won't."

"It does solve our main problem though."

"Touché" I shrug but concede that yes it does solve our biggest problem. "So Fuji-sempai will be Singles 1, should be put Kaido-sempai or Taka-sempai in for Singles 3?"

"I think we should put in Kaido. Kawamura can play Singles 2."

"Then that settles it, we're finally done!" I stand up and gather my stuff, at the door I turn around and look over my shoulder. "Doubles 2 or not Seigaku is strong, we will definitely win this. And go to all the way to the top!" as I slide the door closed behind me I can hear Ryuuzaki start laughing.

* * *

The morning of the Tournament dawned bright and early. I let Ryoma sleep in a little bit since we are the first seed and don't have to be there right away. Kaa-chan cooked western style food this morning and I just knew Ryoma was going to complain… oh well. I put hot sauce on my eggs and dig in, it's much easier to make western breakfasts spicy than traditional ones. "Oi! Echizens I'm here!"

"_**Coming!"**_ Ryoma and I called down before grabbing our tennis bags. Ryoma jumped on the back of Momo-sempai's bike and I grabbed my own.

"Are you two sure about this whole doubles thing?"

"Usu!" I scratched the back of my head.

"Just don't make Seigaku look stupid ok? You guys ARE playing first after all."

"HAI Manager-san!"

* * *

I have to admit, watching the Regulars sign in and listening to everyone's comments was definitely kind of a collective ego-stroke. Being THAT well known could probably go to some people's heads but I was proud to see our Regulars just ignore everyone's comments. Hearing their surprise at seeing a Freshmen among the ranks of the Seigaku Regulars was definitely amusing and the thought of how they would look when they watched said 1st year play was even more so. All of the club-member's surprise at finding out that Buchou isn't playing today was interesting. _Are they keeping Tezuka-buchou's injury a secret? They probably don't want to worry everyone._

* * *

The contrast in the off-court synchronization between the Golden Pair and the Momo-Ryoma pair truly is outstanding; I just hope our Doubles 2 team can get it together on-court. "Echizen why did you and Ryuuzaki-sensei put them on a doubles team?" asked Horio after the Freshman Trio finished commenting on the lack of synchronization between them.

"They asked to be our Doubles 2 for the match and we had no real reason to tell them no. You can think of this as a sort of experiment, either it will work or it won't but the rest of the line-up is the way it is so that even if they do lose their match then we will still win the set."

"So they are lab rats."

"Usu." They are all looking at me with deadpanned faces now. _Whoops._

* * *

_So Momo and Ryoma's opponents already know them… interesting_ "Wrong." The doubles team looks at me then their eyes widen seeing my similarities to Ryoma. "We didn't underestimate you in any way, those two asked to be put on Doubles 2; even if they lose we are prepared to win everything else."

"That's cold."

"Well I know Ryoma's skill at Doubles," _or lack thereof,_ "he is my twin after all." The one with longer hair twitch and I internally laugh, _so they HAVE seen Ryoma's skill even if he has absolutely no doubles sense at all._

"So what will happen," Ryuuzaki asks as the first contenders take the field, "Don't think too hard Tezuka, it's better to relax."

"I understand."

**First match in doubles. Seigaku's Momoshiro-Echizen Pair, Gyokurin's Izumi-Fukawa Pair. **Both teams shake hands and begin with the traditional pre-match taunting. Of course Ryoma wins… snarky brat. The thing that confuses me the most is this An-Un Strategy they are talking about. _Probably something that they figured out during that top-secret doubles team meeting yesterday. It will be interesting to see what they come up with. Not even the Golden Pair have ever heard of it… weird._ The match begins with Gyokurin serving. Ryoma easily returns the ball and the opponent hits it directly between them. _Good strategy for a novice pairing like this._

"Ah!"

"Un!" Momo takes the ball and it is cleanly fielded back. _So that's this mysterious strategy… just random words that they shout to communicate who is taking the ball._ Though it's a simple tactic, it is effective. _Maybe they can win this after all._

Or not. The An-Un thing only works for the middle; they have no handle on doubles play or strategy other than that. _It took them a whole 4 hours just to figure that out?_

"They did it."

"There's no teamwork anywhere but the middle of the court."

"They are both singles players, neither has any trouble getting to a ball all the way across the court from them but that's part of the problem. Since they can both make the ball, they BOTH want to hit it." Everyone looks at me. "What it's true?"

The match continues and the score quickly goes in Gyokurin's favor and they win the first game without much trouble. This visibly gets both Momo and Ryoma riled up. _Damnit._ When Gyokurin wins a second game Momo and Ryoma start arguing. _They're both too stubborn to play Doubles, at least not with each other._ The other players find the "Doubles for Beginners" book Ryoma bought the other day and look at me.

"What?"

"Echizen doesn't know ANYTHING about doubles?"

"No, it never came up. We could probably have played as a doubles team if we really wanted too but it never sparked our interest so we never learned." I shrug helplessly and the Regulars turned back to the game, this time much less assured of how it will end.

"YOU'RE KIDDING ME!"

"Yadda."

Ryuuzaki calls them over to the side and once again they both start arguing. I can see Ryuuzaki getting more and more irritated. "Shut up for a second you two!" they look up to where I'm standing just behind the bench. "You're telling me that you spent 4 hours yesterday working on your formation and strategy and all you came up with is that dumb An-Un thing? Why didn't you ask to play me one-on-two I could have pointed out this HUGE FLAW IN YOUR GAME and we wouldn't be in this position! This morning I told you not to do anything stupid and/or embarrassing and look at you now! YOU BAKAS!"

"Gomen." They both looked down in shame but I can tell that they are still on a hair-trigger with each other. The opponents walk by and comment about how easy it is making both players immediately lose their cool and glare.

"Tezuka, do you think I made a mistake arranging players?"

"Hai."

"I knew something like this would happen and I didn't stop you either so if you did it's my fault too. The problem is that both of them are much too headstrong and they've been taught singles so neither is backing down enough to work together."

Momo served the ball and it hit Ryoma in the back of the head. From there it all went downhill when Ryoma also hit Momo in the back of the head. _And here I thought this combination couldn't get any worse._

* * *

"I'm getting too worked up about this Ryuuzaki-baba, I'm going to go look around a little."

"Who's a hag, you ungrateful Gaki!" I left the court laughing and went to walk around. A girl with short hair and two hairclips walks up and starts walking with me.

"What's a girl like you doing dressed in boy's clothes in a boy's tennis club?" _How the hell does she know?_

"I'm a boy."

"If you say so." _She doesn't seem very convinced._

"I saw you with Ryuuzaki-chan watching the match. My nii-chan really is an idiot."

"The one with the hat is your brother right?"

"He's my older twin Ryoma."

"And what is your name Miss. I-am-a-boy?" _She seems pretty certain, usually people stop hassling me after I say it once just thinking I'm some kind of Bishonen. _

"Echizen Ryota, and I'm not a girl!"

"Of course you aren't."

"What's your name and what school are you here to watch?" I ask, eager to get away from the topic of my masculinity (or lack thereof).

"Tachibana Ann and I'm here for Fudomine Chuu." _I don't know them, definitely one of the unseeded schools._

"I haven't heard of them before, are they any good?"

"Do you want to see?"

"Sure." I shrug and adjust my tennis bag more firmly.

"Oh yeah, I was curious. Why do you only wear one glove?" she turns her head slightly to look down at my left hand where I am wearing a white fingerless glove.

"I have a pretty bad scar that I don't like looking at on the back of my left hand. I have gotten used to wearing a glove pretty much everywhere but having two bothers me."

"I bet you've gotten some pretty weird looks for that haven't you?"

"You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you how many." She laughed until we got to a court where two teams were playing. One was wearing purple jerseys and the other had black ones with pink and white stripes. The backs of these jerseys say Fudomine.

It's a singles match now so and the scoreboard says that Fudomine won both of their doubles. _Interesting._ The boy in the black jersey on the court has short, bright red hair cut angularly across his face to hide one eye and is moving his feet in a strange way but moving very quickly across the court. _Very interesting._ All of the boys sitting on the bench look like 2nd years except one older boy with cropped black hair. "Who's the captain?"

"My aniki, Tachibana Kippei."

"Game Set. Match won by Fudomine. 6 games to 3."

"He has an interesting play-style."

"That's the team's fukubuchou Kamio Akira his greatest strength is his speed." She seems really proud of him, boyfriend maybe?

"Hm, is he your boyfriend Tachibana-chan?" She blushes and sputters before squaring her shoulders.

"No, I don't have a boyfriend."

"Well then, thank you for showing me your team. I hope they make it to the finals, they would be interesting opponents to play." I turn and walk away idly waving over my shoulder. _Maybe she could be a good friend. I hope that embarrassing farce of a game is done by the time I get back._

* * *

"Game and Match, Seigaku!" _That worked out well, why the hell is there a line down the middle of their court? On second thought I don't want to know._

"Cause if you're a man,"

"It's doubles." _That again. Geeze, those guys._

"I can't believe they won."

"Playing doubles only in the middle." In the end both of the idiot boys got a sore cheek for the trouble and were forced to sit on the ground in Seiza to watch Doubles 1, hopefully they learn something.

Watching Oishi-sempai and Eiji-sempai was fun; they worked together flawlessly and knew each other's styles to a T winning 6-0. Kaido-semai also won 6-0; his opponent looked really scared the whole time too. Gyokurin's Singles 2 player looked ready when he saw how timid Taka-sempai is… until Oishi gave him his racket. That match was funny just because of the totally incredulous expression on the opponent's face. And of course Fuji-sempai won without showing off any of his fabled "Triple Counters". _Damnit, I really wanted to see one; especially the one that can counter any smash._ It was a total sweep.

In the end we ended up sweeping all of our opponents until the finals. _I hope Fudomine made it this far. I think they would be opponents that we would actually have to work at._

"This is bad! Kakinoki Chuu lost to some unseeded darkhorse school!" one of the club members came running up.

"Who are they?"

"I don't know, I think their name was Fudomine."

"Heh, so those guys actually did make it this far."

"You know them Ryota?"

"Yeah, while I was on my walk I ran into a girl who is the captain's little sister. We got talking and I asked to see the school she was here to cheer on. I watched a little bit of their fukubuchou's game, he was pretty good and he had an interesting play-style."

"Oh Echizen, was she pretty?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Are you two going on a date later-nya?"

"S-shut up sempai-tachi! I just met her!"

"Either way, Yuudan Senzou ni Ikko!"

"Hai, Buchou!"

* * *

**AN) FINALY! That chapter just did NOT want to get written! Thank you guys for all of your patience. The next chapter will be Fudomine! I really like that team and plan to have some interesting and funny things happen with them in the future. As always Thank You to all of my amazing readers and reviewers!**

**Reveiwers:** angelg0722, redxbloodxblackxdeath

**New Followers:** Reader-of-Many, angelg0722, everHermione, Angel-Hime-Chan, Fierce Naga

**New Favorites:** silvermoon546, chivini, Creek Hitachiin

**I also have a new Beta! Thank you very much to **redxbloodxblackxdeath**! They are currently revising chapters 2 & 3 for me then I will replace each one as it gets back to me! I have already reposted chapter 1 for anyone who wants to read the revised one (it's mostly just spelling, grammar and the like but I did change the tiniest detail of content)!**


	5. Genius 5- the Dark Horse Fudomine!

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything cannon from Prince of Tennis, only Ryoko and all changes pertaining to her! I also don't own the song that is featured in this chapter, Inori by Lena Park.**

"Talking in Japanese"

"**Talking in English**"

_Thinking_

_**Twin-Speak**_

Sounds

**Genius 5 – The Dark Horse… Fudomine!**

"An un-seeded school is our opponent for the finals. We may not know much about them but, Yuudan Senzou ni Ikko!" The interaction between our captains earlier was both a little intimidating and very exhilarating, the fact that Tachibana-san chose to come introduce himself without trying to intimidate us or retaliate for Horio-baka's comments said a lot about his character. I can see why his team follows him, because it's the same reason Seigaku follows Tezuka. They are both honorable and strong.

And of course my baka-nii-chan had to go and be a provocative brat again, but it turned out ok in the end. Now both singles 2 players are fired up and we haven't even started the matches yet.

"HAI!" _Our Regulars are ready; now let's see how much of a challenge you can give us, Fudomine!_ I step forward with the line-up in my hand.

"Listen up!" all the Regulars transfer their attention from Tezuka-buchou to me and I look at each one. "This is the line-up for the finals match! Doubles 2 Fuji-Kawamura, don't let us down. Doubles 1 Oishi-Kikumaru, show them what a national level pair really looks like. Singles 3 Kaido, don't lose. Singles 2 Ryoma, go wild and let off all that stress. Singles 1 Tezuka-buchou ganbatte. Momo will be our alternate incase of one of you can't play or there is a tie in numbers! Go Seigaku!" the cheering squad began their cheers and the Regulars all nodded accepting their matches. _Yep, we're defiantly ready._

* * *

"One set match! Fudomine's Sakurai to serve!" _and so it begins, will you finally show me your tennis Fuji-sempai? Can they push you that far?_ As expected the Fudomine Pair came at us strong and showed why they got this far in the tournament. As the first game went on I can feel Ryoma getting more and more edgy as this game goes on. _Heh, he REALLY wants to play doesn't he?_

In a rather surprising move, Tachibana-san stands up and leaves in the middle of the first game, possibly to psych us out? Everyone was so distracted by Tachibana-san that we stopped paying attention until we heard the ref call out, "Service Ace! 40-15!"

From there the game quickly heats up to a series of rather intense rallies. I can tell that Fuji-sempai is getting closer and closer to showing his hand; he has this look on his face that I have never seen before. I idly note that Fudomine's captain has returned but keep my eyes trained on Fuji-sempai. His eyes open and he enters a stance I have never seen before. The next ball he hits doesn't bounce, it ROLLS ALONG THE GROUND. _THAT is one of the triple counters? I wonder which one._ "Tsubame Gaeshi"

"Eh?" I look over at Oishi-sempai.

"You said that out loud Ryota-kun, that Triple Counter is called Tsubame Gaeshi." _Swallow's Return, fitting name, it is a rather beautiful technique._ Tachibana-san begins explaining the move to his team and I listen in with my eyes still trained on the court. Fuji truly earned the title 'Tensai' to have created a move THAT complicated, _I wonder if all three are that amazing… somehow it makes me want to see them all._

The match continues but I can tell that Fuji-sempai's use of Tsubame Gaeshi threw off their rhythm and turned the entire match in our favor, Fudomine is beginning to panic. The match continues at a pretty one sided pace proving that the Fuji-Kawamura pair is an effective one. Taka-sempai's strength together with Fuji-sempai's skill truly is devastating.

Fudomine's attitude and formation changed. I couldn't hear what was said, but the front player is definitely leaving the back player a lot of room. _Something is going to happen soon._ The entire team looks on edge except for Tachibana-san, and the baseline player looks especially determined. He looks like he's waiting for something… some kind of signal perhaps? _His stance change, so some kind of special technique then?_

"Go Ishida!"

"Hadōkyuu!"

_Hadōkyuu?_ He's holding the ball on the racket to build up power! _That ball has a ridiculous amount of power! Will Fuji-sempai try to return it?_

"Don't Fuji!" I jump at Oishi-sempai's yell but can't help but agree with him, that shot is dangerous. "You're wrist can't take it!"

"FUJI!" Taka-sempai jumps in front of Fuji-sempai and takes the ball instead! _Taka-sempai! Even you're double-handed shot will have trouble receiving that!_

"Taka-san!"

"Hurrryyyyaaahhh! GREAT!" He received the ball!

"Ishida!" _Another Hadōkyuu! But a ball that strong can't be good for his muscles; it could tear his arm apart!_

"Stop it Ishida! Your arm will-"

"I DON'T CARE!" _His willpower is amazing. But neither he nor Taka-sempai will be able to continue this game, his arm and racket are at their limit and Taka-san probably has a broken wrist. Or at least a bad sprain._ We'll see who forfeits first. The racket broke; _thank Kami it wasn't his arm_. I hate it when tennis results in injuries that end someone's career.

Horio and the freshmen interrupt my thoughts by yelling at Taka-sempai. He seems to be fine but I know that his wrist is injured because of that return. _Fuji-sempai does too._ He grabs Taka-sempai's wrist eliciting a yell of pain. He looks pissed, probably hates it that Taka-sempai got hurt protecting him. "You took it for me." He looks to the ref and completely ignores Taka-sempai. "Referee, we forfeit this match."

"Eh, but that-"

"One of you get me the first aid kit and the cool-down spray."

"Hai!"

* * *

"What are you talking about? I can still play!" No matter how much Taka-sempai yells, Fuji-sempai won't back down on this, "You know how much the first match means to us!" Fuji just reply's by smiling and taking the racket from our bipolar teammate.

"It's going to be alright." Taka-sempai looks over at us to see that most of the team is smiling and no one blames him for the loss. "See?"

"Oh, gomen minna."

"It's ok Taka-sempai, just come over here and let me see your wrist."

"Hai." I spray on the cooling spray to get the swelling to go down then loosely wrapped the wrist in gauze. "ITAI!"

"Take it like a man, but you should probably go to the hospital and have an actual doctor look at it just in case. That was a really hard return so it might be a little broken, it's at least sprained I can tell you that much." I look at him and can tell that the loss is still bugging him. "Hey, it's ok. Don't worry about the match! Think of it this way, now Ryoma has a chance to play. First he played Doubles, and then was an alternate, but now he finally gets to play Singles. Besides next up is the Golden Pair and I KNOW they will win. Next up is Kaido-sempai who is ALREADY warming up. Then its Ryoma-nii's turn; who despite sucking at Doubles, has NEVER lost an official Singles match."

"Hai" then he does a double take and looks at me with wide eyes. "Never?"

"Never." This seems to lift his spirits and he looks less depressed, "off you go. And come back after the doctor tells you what's wrong."

"Hai!"

* * *

Eiji-sempai DEFINITELY looks ready. _This should be interesting._ Almost at once the baseliner aims strait for Eiji-sempai and for a second he looks surprised but almost as quick the mast of surprise melts off his face to reveal a cheeky grin as he moves his racket to hit the ball from behind his head. _And there it is… Eiji-sempai's acrobatic play._

"Nanjaro Hoi Hoi!" yep definitely ready to kick ass. "Hoi Hoi do ne."

"Sugoi!"

"Go Kikumaru-sempai! Oishi-sempai!" This match will end pretty quickly.

"Game Seigaku!" Ryoma stands and we share a glance. I nod and take the single racket I brought out of my bag. Even though I'm not playing today, I knew I would at least be able to work my muscles a little helping Ryoma warm up.

"Oi, where are you going Echizen?"

"I'm thirsty, so I am going to get something to drink."

"We're in the middle of a match, hurry back!"

"_**Hai"**_

"You're going too Ryota?"

"Hai!"

* * *

There's a commotion in one of the open patios between courts; as we get closer we can tell that it's two of the Fudomine players. _Probably second and third Singles._ They are standing about 2 ½ meters apart sending two balls back and forth so that they are hitting at exactly the same time, _now isn't that a familiar exercise._

I hold a ball out to Ryoma and lift an eyebrow, the silent message is pretty clear. _**Would you like to challenge them?**_ He nods. _**Che, of course.**_

We watch their exercise for a little while until Kaido-sempai comes up behind us. They begin talking and I glance at our two players to catch the reaction.

"We were lucky to defeat Fuji in Doubles, but our job as Singles players is tough." The redhead, Kamio, said.

"Feeling unconfident?"

"Of course not, I'm brimming with confidence." He laughs, "this will be over before we even get to the captain's match!" I can tell Kaido-sempai is pissed but we are already walking toward the pair. Each of us is holding our racket on the outside. I fall behind Ryoma and we walk directly between the two Fudomine players. Ryoma almost absent mindedly hits both of their balls back toward them and just keeps going through when in their surprise they automatically hit the balls back to him instead of each other I come in just behind him and do the same thing with a yawn for added effect.

"You're right; this match WILL be over before the captain's match." My continuing_ but it will be Seigaku who takes the victory._ Goes unsaid but is heard by all. They just keep hitting back to each other after we pass through but I can feel both of their eyes on us as Ryoma I lean on the fountain and Ryoma bends down to get a drink.

"_**Mada Mada Dane**_**"**

"Hey do you want to increase the number of balls by one-" he holds up the ball I gave him earlier.

"Or two?" I hold up mine with a smirk.

"These guys!"

"Who's still lacking!"

"Oi, you got a problem with our Freshman?"

"Heh, Kaido-sempai to the rescue." I can't resist commenting and he moves his glare to me while I smile innocently and Ryoma hides a smirk behind his cap.

"Oi! Stop it, stop it!" the girl who first showed me Fudomine runs up and startles all of us.

"Oh, it's you!"

"Shouldn't you all be getting back? I might have to inform bucho-nii-chan that you all weren't doing what you were supposed to."

"Fine." Kamio turns toward Kaido-sempai. "I'm looking forward to our match, Seigaku-san."

"For a guy who is always calm, you're pretty susceptible to provocation." She laughs, "not that I don't find it entertaining."

"Who is this?" Kaido-sempai questions.

"I don't know." Ryoma replies in a flat voice. _Might as well clear this up._

"What are you doing here An-chan?"

"You know her?"

"Un."

"Shouldn't you all be more worried about your matches then me?" she looks at Kaido, "Kamio-kun is a player that matches up well against you Kaido-kun."

"What?"

"On top of that, Ibu Shinji-kun, only a second year but his tennis skills rival that of your Fuji-kun."

"How do you know everything?"

An-chan just chuckles and says mysteriously: "Hm, how do I know…" It begins to rain and she cries out, "Ah! This is bad, see you later!" before running off.

Kaido-sempai just looks at us silently for a second before yelling, "You two shouldn't wander around places like this!"

"_**Hai sempai.**_**"** I looked up into the clouds. _Huh… I wonder if we will be able to continue all the matches with this rain._

"We should get back."

"Ok sempai, though yours and Ryoma's matches will probably get postponed due to the rain."

* * *

Eiji-sempai began slipping because of the rain but he was still able to get to the ball in all of his strange positions. I will readily admit that I laughed just a little bit when sensei used the golden pair as example to reprimand nii-chan and momo-sempai for their stunt at the beginning of the tournament.

"Game and match, Segaku!"

"They did it!"

"That's just like Segaku's Golden Pair."

"What do you think Ryota-kun?" asked Kachiro-chan.

"I think that they are both impressive players and I'm not surprised that they won. The game is at 1-1 and we are going to begin singles matches. Kaido-sempai's up first and then you will be able to see nii-chan really play."

"But we saw him play at the ranking matches!"

"Yes but that wasn't Ryoma's REAL play, you haven't truly seen either of us play yet."

"We haven't seen you play at all." Grumbled Horio, "can you even play tennis?"

"Of course," I smirked at the three other freshmen, "all Echizens play tennis." I could tell from their faces that they had absolutely no idea what I meant. "And all of our styles are variations of the same persons's play style."

"The same person?"

"The one who taught us tennis," I smiled watching Ryoma groan when they postponed the last two matches. "Ryoma is the most similar to that person."

* * *

Soon I started to see the tension and anticipation leave Kaido-sempai's body. _Well that's not good, he's going to need to get his head back in the game._ I looked over to see his opponent was listening to music and subtly moving his body to keep his muscles from relaxing or tensing up too much. _I wonder how Kaido-sempai will deal with this delay._ Soon enough he got up from where he was slouched against the wall and walked away. _Probably jogging or some other way to lightly exercise his body._

I let momo-sempai explain what he was doing to the other freshmen and instead watched Ryoma. He too eventually got up and walked away. _Heh, took him longer then I thought. I wonder where he'll fall asleep this time._ I went out and joined Ryuuzaki-sensei on the court where she was looking up at the sky.

"It's going to stop soon right?"

"Yep," she looked over her shoulder at me, "How do you think the matches will turn out?"

"Without knowing the strategies and play styles of the opponents, I can't really say. But I know Ryoma will win and Kaido-sempai's pretty strong so there's a good chance both will win as long as they keep the tenacity that they both showed at the ranking matches."

"You seem confidant the gaki will win."

"Of course he will, he's never lost an official match and somehow I doubt he's going to start now. Ryoma-nii-chan has a lot of growing to do still, and he needs to move away from Oyaji's play style but I know that he can at least win this match. We decided to play on an actual team with the express knowledge that we WILL win nationals this year. We will settle for nothing less."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

* * *

"You're late Mr. Singles-three." _Ah… Ryoma's special brand of encouragement, I wonder how well Kaido will respond. He has a temper so he should respond alright._ "Gambate ne."

"I don't need mouth from you!"

"Oi Kaido, Echizen isn't your opponent." _Heh, yep he responded perfectly._

"Hai."

"Singles 3, Segaku's Kaido and Fudomine's Kamio."

"Yo, your nickname's Mamushi right?" Kamio smirked, _damn he knows how to push Kaido's buttons. _"It suits you."

"Fuushuu." Kaido swung his racket back.

"Stop Kaido!" he swung the racket forward and Kamio dodged backward so that he could carry the strike all the way around without hitting the redhead. _He's fast, but his foot movements are strange._

"You have a fast swing." _Interesting, he isn't letting himself be shaken by something like that._

"What are you guys doing!"

"Kaido!"

"Forgive me." He bowed to the ref who had come over to break up the possible fight.

"Watch yourself next time."

"I apologize for my team member." _Even if it was a good tactic for testing the opponent's speed and reaction time, it is embarrassing to have to apologize like this._

"No, my player provoked first, I apologize." _At least the captain is recognizing his own player's fault as well. He is a good leader to do that._

"This is going to be a rough match."

"Of course it is Horio," I turned to the brunette, "Kaido-sempai has a temper and it looks like Kamio-san knows just which buttons to press to get the right reaction. Now we just have to wait and see if Sempai can get focused and determined enough to win."

"They're still both scary."

"Un"

"One set match, Fudomine's Kamio to serve."

Kamio serves then dashes to the net. _So a front-line player, probably speed over power. _Kaido goes for a cross-court hit.

"Good Kaido, you got him going the wrong way!" _Nope, he can get there._

"He's fast, unbelievable foot speed!"

"I can't believe he caught up to that ball!"

"You all saw his reaction time when he dodged the swing before the match; I'm not surprised he's a speed player. His foot movements are strange though, like he's moving to a beat or rhythm of some sort."

"I'm in the rhythm."

"Yep, that must be what the music was for before the match. It wasn't just to keep his muscles warm."

"Huh?"

"He probably had the same song on repeat so that he got the beat of the music in his head." I turned back to the match after explaining to the other first-years.

"I don't like it when you do that, hurry up and serve." _Kaido-sempai's beginning to get agitated, I don't know if he can keep his head much longer unless someone interrupts the game_

"He's going for the corner this time."

"It's right up Kaido's ally."

"Here it comes, Snake!" _I thought only Ryoma and I could talk in tandem like that, it's really weird to hear someone else do it._

"Awesome, what's that high angle shot?"

Kamio got the ball. _He really does cover the whole quart, but how long can he keep his stamina?_

"Pretty confident in your speed aren't you?"

"You must be mistaken. Seigaku must have won on the backs of their Doubles, throwing first and second years at us in singles."

"They've underestimated us. The three Singles players are on a totally different level then our Doubles." _Heh well so are ours Fudomine-san._

"I think you will find that our first and second years are just fine, Fudomine-san."

"What the? Who are you?"

"Seigaku's manager. And the twin of the player in Singles Two."

"The first year?"

"Usu, I'm Echizen Ryota."

"Even if your Singles are good, there's no one who can match up to Akira in speed."

"Kaido-sempai doesn't play with speed. He has a different kind of play."

"Why don't you entertain me a little more with your Snake." _He really is arrogant isn't he, or is it just pride in this fabled speed they're telling me about._ Once again Kaido uses his Snake and once again Kamio hits it back, this time however Kaido slips in the mud created by the rain and falls down.

"Kaido!"

"A regular person would be running back and forth to return your Snake, and losing stamina in the process…" Kamio cocked his head, "but it's just the right speed for me."

"This is the worst possible match up for Kaido."

"Right, someone who can catch up to the Snake. With enough time to get a good wind up and can hit the ball back with a good angle. In other words, the Snake is a double-edged sword."

"On top of that, the ground is still wet because of the rain. The absorption of water by the tennis ball is diminishing the effects of the Snake."

"Is that why the Snake isn't working?"

"Nope, it's the fact that a person can run at that speed in these conditions that makes it bad." Inui-sempai can explain this one, I'm off duty.

"I'm in the rhythm."

"It's right on rhythm!"

"I'm going with my rhythm!" _ok, all this talk of rhythm is really getting annoying. Please shut him up soon Kaido-sempai!_

"DON'T UNDERESTIMATE ME!" Kaido managed to get an around the pole shot, he had been getting closer and closer to it each time he slipped. _It'll be hard to replicate that shot though._

"He hit the ball through the side." _Well that shut him up nicely. _"Hey hey, is that possible?"

"Awesome."

"I can't believe we saw a shot like that."

"What was that just now?"

"It returned like a boomerang." Katsuo-kun breathed.

"Boomerang and Snake?"… "Boomerang Snake?" yelled Horio. _Not a bad name for that shot…_

"Boomerang Snake sound pretty good."

"I'm impressed." I couldn't help chiming into everyone's amazement. It really was a good shot.

"Boomerang Snake."

"Kyaa, I'm going to use that!"

"They're saying Boomerang Snake."

"That sounds pretty good!"

"40-15"'

"Kaido that was a great around the pole shot." _Heh, keeping up the image buchou?_

"Eh, good work sempai."

"You have something like that after all; I guess I'll have to up my rhythm." _If he moves faster he will also tire out faster, maybe he will get careless and fall into Kaido-sempai's trap._ Immediately the difference in the two speeds was evident. Not only did Kamio himself move faster, the ball speed was also much faster than it had been before startling everyone but Kamio's teammates.

"Quick-motion serve, he's good." Stated Inui-sempai, voicing everyone's thoughts.

"Quick-motion?"

"Throwing the ball lower in the air and hitting it earlier then usual." He quickly explained to the other freshmen. "He caught Kaido off guard."

The game restarts and Kaido immediately tries to use the Boomerang Snake but misses the shot. _He needs to train differently to use that shot. I bet to use it effectively he will need a totally different arm movement. I just hope he doesn't get stubborn. _Again and again he tried to get the Boomerang Snake to work and again and again it went out of bounds. _It's getting closer though._

"Kaido-sempai isn't playing like himself."

"Of course he isn't nii-chan." I smirk at the look on both his and the Sempai's face, "He is getting stubborn. Probably thinking he needs the Boomerang Snake to win, but he doesn't." I looked right at Kaido's face. "Kaido-sempai needs to win this match as Kaido-sempai, then we can go home and he can train to get that shot to work."

"Your interest in that shot is boring. This match sucks. You're just swinging freely, you fool." Ryuzaki-baa-chan began coldy. "Are you so week that you need one lucky shot to win?" she crossed her arms and stared at the back of Kaido's head. "Kaido, what style of tennis do you play?" The blunt words from baa-chan seemed to snap him out of it and the old determination came back.

"I wonder if Kaido-sempai will be ok…"

"He'll be fine Kachiro-chan," He looked at me surprised. "both of the players were shaken by the Boomerang Snake in different ways, Kaido-sempai has his old determination back but I don't know if Kamio is going to get his true rhythm back in time to catch his trap or not. Because I promise you, if Kamio-san keeps the speed he is at now… he will fall to the Snake." I whisper the last part in the boy's ear getting a small blush and a giggle out of him. "So let's trust our sempai, ne?"

"Looks like he's shaken off his doubts."

"The fact that Kaido's at a disadvantage hasn't changed."

"But then, when has that ever stopped him?" both baa-chan and buchou looked back at me over the little fence.

"Even so, it won't be an easy game." _Of course it wont nii-chan, even if I have only watched a few matches with this team I can already tell that they have an annoying habit of making things as hard on themselves as possible… but then again, we have the same habit. _"When Kaido-sempai gets like that he's annoying." Kaido quickly turns the game around but it's still close and he has a lot of catch-up to do. Soon the game is at match-point, but that's when Kamio's speed starts to catch up with him and he begins to falter.

"Oi, Momo-sempai!" _those are the guys who took Taka-sempai to the hospital._

"How's Taka-san?"

"There wasn't anything wrong with the bone. He's strong." _Thank Kami._

"It's the hospital over there right? I'll be right back." With that Momo-sempai hopped the fence and ran away.

"Wait Momo! How's the match doing?"

"Ahh, its getting interesting now!"

"Advantage to server!"

"This will end it!" _nope it won't._

"Deuce 3!"

"Fuushuu"

"It's tied again!"

"Awesome see-saw game!"

"Kaido-sempai is amazing!"

"Kaido, this is where you show off what you're made of!" says Tezuka-buchou in his usual monotone.

"Just give up!" _yelling stuff like that won't make it happen, Kamio-san is starting to sound desperate._

"Who's giving up?"

"Continuous Snake!"

"What's with that guy's persistency?"

"This is how Kaido-sempai normally plays." Once again I find myself explaining something to the Fudomine team… _does this count as traitorous action?_

"Ehh?"

"Before he was shaken by Kamio-san's speed and his own Boomerang Snake so in a way it wasn't really Kaido-sempai playing. This is Kaido-sempai's true tennis."

"He's moving so much but he's not out of breath at all!"

"That's because of the ridiculous amount of training he puts himself through. It's about three times as much as any other Regular. The only person on our team who I know trains more than him is Inui-sempai."

"Both of them have used up similar amounts of energy but…"

"10 km of jogging in the morning. 10 km of jogging after club activities. 10 km of jogging at night. 3 sets of shuttle runs, 50 runs each set. 150 push-ups." Inui-sempai cuts in reading from his notebook on Kaido-sempai.

"Are you saying that's what Kaido does each day." There goes Eiji-sempai.

"Yep, like I said the only one who does more is Inui-sempai."

"3 times as much as the original training." _Geeze buchou is to stoic… does he have to work at it or is it natural?_

"Kaido-sempai is amazing."

"Net… deuce again."

"Just as I thought, that kind of tenacity isn't normal." _Nii-chan… way to state the obvious._

"Kamio just fell into the trap."

"Ehh?"

"He raised his speed again but he doesn't have the endurance to keep it up, he has fallen to the Snake." I smirk at the other first-years before turning back to the match.

"Sorry Mamushi, luck is also a skill." _Don't get cocky just yet. It isn't over._ Kaido leaps forward to catch the falling ball and just barely makes it hitting it over the net.

"Advantage Receiver!"

"I can't hear you. Who said this was going to be over?" he looked over his shoulder at the shocked Kamio, "I'll never give up as long as there is one point left."

"What an annoying guy…"

"Going after the tired opponent bit by bit… the one getting pounced on can't help but feel the pressure even if they are at an advantage."

"Sounds like something right up his alley."

"Game and match won by Seigaku's Kaido. 7-5"

"He did it!"

"Yatta!"

"Fuushuu"

* * *

"Ahh, I lost. He had an unbelievable energy," I watch as Fudomine group around Kamio. "I threw everything at him so I have no regrets, but the last two wins will be tough."

"Don't pressure us unnecessarily. Just leave the rest to us, na Shinji?"

* * *

"Fuushuu."

"Hey, I analyzed the around-the-pole shot. That Boomerang Snake. I can prepare a training program for you. Wanna try it out when we get back?" Inui-san idly leans on the barrier behind Kaido looking down into that damned notebook of his.

"Are you ok with that? You'll just increase the number of opponents in the intra-school ranking matches."

"It's ok… all for the greater good of acquiring data. I'll win the next one for sure." _Doesn't it get boring collecting all that data?_

"Heh, I'll make you regret this."

_Those two have a relationship I will never understand._

* * *

"The next match is finally beginning."

"All we have to do is win three matches. Win this one and we're the champions."

"Ryoma-nii." He comes over to the barrier and we stare at each other for a couple of seconds. "Do not allow yourself to be shaken."

"Hai." He slowly connects our foreheads and we both take a deep breath.

"Now show them who we are."

"Hai. Sing for me imouto."

"Hai."

"Go Ryoma-kun!"

"Go Echizen!"

I took a breath from where I was standing and drowned out all of the sounds around me. All that mattered was Ryoma and the court, nothing else can break my concentration. In most games we don't connect like this to play, instead choosing to show our own strength but this one is different. This is our true debut match with Seigaku. We are part of a team now, even if I'm not out there on the court I will be playing this game all the same.

The song our mother used to sing to us when we got nightmares came to mind and I began to sing softly in my mind. No one but us could hear our song; no one but us was connected in this way._ We are both our there, we are one._

**Urunda hitomi no oku ni**

"Seigaku's Echizen to serve!"

**Kawaranu kimi no** **sugata**

Thud.

Thud.

Thud. I listen to the ball hit the ground before my twin serves and steady my breathing to match his.

Thud.

Thud.

**Doko made sekai wa tsudzuku no**

The ball bounces for the last time and my heart leaps as My Twin jumps into the air.

**Todaeta hibi no kotoba**

Thwack. The ball flies across the court.

**Kogoeru arashi no yoru mo**

Thwack. Another Twist Serve and another serve ace. We hear their whisperings but we ignore them, they don't matter. Only the game.

**Mada minu kimi e tsudzuku**

Thwack. Another Twist Serve. Ace again.

**Oshiete umi wataru kaze**

Thwack. Another Twist Serve, this time it's different though. The opponent attacks. The ball is returned. _This opponent is strong; he will be adequate to show off our strength._ My Twin jumps and smashes the return, flawlessly getting the final point of the first game. _One down 5 more to go._

**Inori wa toki wo koeru**

**Inori wa toki wo koeru**

"_**I seem to be getting into my rhythm…" **_unconsciously the words leave our mouths at the same time but no one seems to notice. Unlike with the mental state synchro that the best of Doubles pairs enter, there is no visible changes the accompany our altered state of being other than maybe a slight golden shine to both of our amber eyes. Not enough for anyone to see unless they were looking for it, and even then it could be shrugged off as just a trick of the light.

"_**Just kidding."**_

"Seeing his eyes takes me back." Baa-chan says from somewhere to my left. _Well maybe some will come to recognize what we are, but it won't happen just yet._

"Good environment and good sempai-tachi." The opponent is mumbling, it seems he is unhappy that a freshman is caught him off guard. _But he is wrong, we are not strong because of them. We are strong because of us._ "What's that? Freshman should endure more hardships." _He knows nothing of our hardships._ "Nice, I envy you, but I also feel a bit irritated… He's too arrogant for a Freshman." _Yes, My Twin is cocky, but your teammate is just as bad. _"It's better if you don't get too overconfident. Annoying Punk. I'll crush you." _We'd like to see you try._

**Kasunda chihei no mukou ni  
Nemureru hoshi no souwa  
Akenai yoru wa nai yo to  
Ano hi no tsumi ga warau**

Now it is Opponent's turn to serve. Thwack. _Twist Serve! No… it is similar but not as strong. A pathetic imitation. Kick Serve… so that's what it's called._

"You're still hiding something from me aren't you?" _Of course we are. We haven't actually gotten a chance to play yet. Up till now this has been a game of serves._ "I can feel it." _**Shall we show him then? **_the racket switches hands. _**Why not.**_

"_**You're right. So let's stop fooling around and get serious."**_

"South Paw"

"_**If you think about it, we have to hit a Twist Serve with our right hand to hit a guy who's right handed. You're pretty good to see through our plan so quickly."**_ No one seems to notice our use of a plural pronoun, just as they don't notice the Twin Speak.

"I should make you lose one. You're too arrogant." This time we return the Kick Serve flawlessly, it's even easier to return than Twin's Twist. Now the real match begins. We hear baa-chan mention Oyaji but discard it, it will not affect the match. They speak of barriers and overcoming them. _We will, we will no longer live in Oyaji's shadow. That is what we are here for after all. To take this team to Nationals and to become our own players to create our own style. We will not fail!_

**Furueru kimi wo dakiyose  
Todokanu kokuu wo aogu  
Kikoeru yami terasu kane  
Kimi eto michi wa tooku**

We aren't going to make it! _But, maybe if we show another hidden strength we will._ Again the racket switches hands. _We are not just Southpaw, we are Nitouryuu!_

"15-15"

"Nitouryuu" _so someone knows enough to recognize the technique… they've probably watched Oyaji play._

"Huh, so that's Nitouryuu."

"_**Yep."**_

"Tennis isn't like a circus…"

"_**It's all good."**_ The racket switches hands again. _**"I'm sorry but we don't feel like losing before the Nationals. Of course, we won't lose at the Nationals either!"**_

**Kogoeru arashi no yoru mo  
Mada minu kimi e tsudzuku  
Oshiete umi wataru kaze  
Inori wa toki wo koeru**

_He is not as strong as we thought. But he is still very good. WHAT THE!_ The ball passes us by. _What happened to our arm? It went numb. Why?_ The people around us begin to speak all as perplexed as we are. _Was it just a fluke? No the Other Captain reacted just a little. We disregarded his shock a minute ago… but what did he see that he was so visibly startled?_

"Shinji just sealed the other player's movements." _Sealed?... But how?_ "It was a low percentage gamble. But… by hitting top spin and slice shots to the forehand and the backhand numerous times, the muscles will start to contract. Leaving the player in a numb state called "Spot". _That is a dirty trick. Opponent won't get away with it for long; we will seal this so-called Spot. _

**Kogoeru arashi no yoru mo  
Mada minu kimi e tsudzuku  
Oshiete umi wataru kaze  
Inori wa toki wo koeru**  
**Inori wa toki wo koeru**

We continue playing; we will not let them make fools of us like this. _Damnit, it happened again. How do we stop this? Twist our body!_ Our grip on the racket slipped… then white hot pain erupted through our left eyes.

* * *

"Ungh." _The pain must have shocked us apart._ That girl, she's going to interrupt the match! I grab her arm with my right hand. "Don't you dare enter that court. He's fine!" I hiss, not bothering to temper my tone or words through the pain above my eye.

"But-"

"No, I let you that time at the public tournament but you will not disrespect my brother that way again!"

"Disrespect?"

"Yes, to run out on the court while a match is going is extremely disrespectful to the player." I glared strait into her eyes. "As long as both players are on the court the game is still going until the ref calls it. Nii-chan can still play as long as they stop the bleeding."

"But-"

"No! If you are going to come watch then at least learn basic court etiquette, your grandmother is the coach for Kami's sake you should ALREADY know at least that much!"

"Gomen."

"Hn. I didn't mean to yell, but you really should know better." I let go of her hand and walk over to where Oishi-fukubucho is trying to stop the bleeding.

"It's no good, it won't stop bleeding." He discarded one cotton pad for another. "The eyeball is fine but the eyelid muscles are done for.

"Woah, that looks painful for Echizen. It does." Taka-sempai chose that moment to faint because of the blood. "Taka-san, get a hold of yourself!"

"That's what happens when you recklessly swing your racket." _Not now Fuji-sempai!_

"Che, so un-cool." _You weren't that cool either when you were playing Kaido-sempai… at least until you got back into the game._

"How is he Oishi?"

"It's no good, it's impossible to continue in this condition."

"He'll be fine Oishi-fukubucho. Just bandage it or something, he can still play." He looked at me with wide eyes.

"But, with an injury this bad-"

"We've both had worse in America, trust me when I say he can still play." Tezuka-bucho looked between us.

"How do you know he can still play?'

"Because he's done it before, and this isn't nearly as painful as some of the injuries we've had in the past."

"Woo, it's in pieces." Momo-sempai called over to us, "Oi, Echizen I'm going to put your racket in your bag!"

"Momo-sempai." Ryoma called back without opening his eyes while I smirked at Oishi-fukubucho knowing that he would continue to play. "Take out the spare while you're at it."

"You got it."

"It's absurd with that injury!"

"Don't force yourself; it's too much of a handicap."

"Echizen-kun, you don't plan on continuing playing, do you?" the ref came over, "I can't let you play unless you stop the bleeding. After coming this far you must be disappointed, but you have to give up."

"I'll play."

"But you…"

"The bleeding stopped."

"Ryoma, get over here." Ryuuzaki-baa-chan called, "Bullshit it stopped. You're a stubborn fool."

"Is that bad?" I sigh, _nii-chan… sometimes you're TOO much like Oyaji…_

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

"It doesn't hurt."

"Oishi, bring me the first aid kit!"

"Eh? Hai!"

"Ryoma, this will hurt." She put a makeshift bandage over his eye, "There we're done."

"Ref, permission to enter the court area?" I ask with a bow.

"Who is asking?"

"His twin and the manager for the team."

"Fine but be back out before we restart the game."

"Hai." I jumped the fence and walked over to Ryoma and tapped him on the shoulder. "You have a time limit now."

"I know."

"Don't get carried away." I raised my gloved left hand and hovered it over the bandaged eye.

"I won't, besides you were right when you said we have had worse." He took my hand and lightly traced over the back of the leather glove making the skin tingle just a little.

"Still, an eye is a pretty big handicap."

"I'm fine."

"Alright." I bowed to both captains and the ref, "Thank you for allowing me to enter the court." Everyone had been silent through the whole exchange and there were a couple of very confused faces from the people who were close enough to hear us.

"It'll only hold for 15 minutes max."

"Sumire-chan to the rescue." Fuji-sempai teased.

"Fuji! You have no right to call me Sumire-chan."

"I can play if it stopped bleeding right?" Ryoma bluntly addresses the ref while baa-chan scolds Fuji-sempai.

"Um I guess, but you…"

"Echizen! Your racket!"

"Thanks Momo-sempai." Oishi-fukubucho came and stood directly between the two.

"Oishi-sempai…" they stared at each other until Tezuka-bucho came and took the racket from Momo-sempai.

"Bucho-"

"10 minutes." He held the racket out to Ryoma, "If it isn't decided in 10 minutes then I'm calling it."

"Tezuka!"

"Got it?"

"That's more than enough time."

Oishi looked between the two then sighed, "Echizen, go. But don't overdo it." All of the sudden Ryoma's hat came flying from the other side of the bench.

"You forgot something." _Heh, Kaido-sempai to the rescue again._

"Thank you, Sempai."

"Che."

* * *

This time when Ryoma served it was almost twice as fast as before. _That's right Ryoma, with this time limit in place you can't afford to hold back can you?_

"Never mind that, what's that technique you're using? It makes my arm go numb… for a second." _That's right; the Spot is still in effect. How can he counter something like that?... wait a minute, it only affects the one arm not the whole body so… _

"Game count, 4-3."

"There are 7 minutes 40 seconds left." _I wonder if Ryoma will figure it out… the way to seal the Spot._

"15-00" _7 minutes… damnit Ryoma figure it out!_

"30-00"

"5 minutes have passed."

"40-00"

"How envious, you've got the crowds sympathy. But this is what you wanted right?" _3 minutes 30 seconds. Stop wasting time!_ "I'm going to make you work till the end." This Ibu guy is really starting to piss me off.

"Hey, sorry to bother you when you're talking to yourself but can you hurry up and serve the ball?" Ryoma smirked, "I have to beat you in a little over 3 minutes."

"Damn, what an annoying guy."

"I don't like the shots that go up and down." Ryoma returned the serve, "But I just found two weak points in your strategy."

"Nani?"

"Have you ever used it against a Nitouryuu player before?"

"40-15"

"This is the first weak point!"

"Nitouryuu what are you going to do with that? I'll just numb both your arms!"

"Hey I'm still waiting for a topspin!" _2 minutes and 30 seconds. I hope he can keep this up if the bleeding gets worse._

"Game Seigaku, Echizen 5-3." _1 minute 58 seconds. Just one more game!_

"15-00"

"15-15"

"30-15"

"40-15"

_30 seconds._

The ball went up.

Ryoma jumped with the racket in his right hand.

_Twist Smash!_

"Game and match. Seigaku's Echizen!"

_2 seconds left… that baka._

"Did I make it in 10 minutes?"

"Yep!"

* * *

"District tournament winner, Seishungakuen. Together with runner up, Fudomine Chuu. We will be anticipating good games from both of you at the Prefectural tournament. That is all."

"-but that it wasn't even my fault. Ah, I see now, you did it to yourself. I'm absolutely sure. On purpose… I'm getting tired of this…" I walk up while Ibu-san is in the middle of "apologizing" for Ryoma's eye.

"Shinji!" I laughed at Ibu-san as I came and jumped on Ryoma's back.

"Sorry."

"It's ok, you lost after all. It's ok to feel bad, and no the injury was my baka-nii-chan's fault for being too stubborn."

"You were being stubborn too." He muttered looking at me.

"Yeah, but they don't know that." I whispered back still smiling at Tachibana-san and Ibu-san.

"_**Mada Mada Dane."**_

"Now onward to the hospital nii-chan!"

"Shouldn't you be the one carrying me since I'm the one who's injured?"

"Yes, but I'm lighter so you can carry me while I carry your bag. Think of it as training."

"Che."

* * *

"The bleeding has stopped."

"You still have to get proper treatment."

"Ah! You got that playing tennis?" _that seems like a really strong reaction for something like this…_

"Yes"

"Really?" the doctor exclaimed while a nurse fastened the eye-bandage.

"Yeah"

"This must have been some pretty rough tennis to produce injuries like yours and that boy's who came in with the bruised wrist earlier!" _so he saw Taka-sempai too…_

* * *

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah"

"Well then, let's go to our next stop!"

"There's something else too?"

"Stop stalling brats! Let's go."

* * *

And that's how we got here… at Taka-sempai's sushi restaurant… with all of the other team members…

_Remind me again why we chose Seigaku… Everyone here is crazy!_

"- well then how about this sensei here?"

"I'm the captain, Tezuka."

"Ah, gomenasai!"

"Ahh, Kaido I like Anago!"

"Ahh! This is so good!"

"Yep!"

"You guys ate it all!"

"Ahh! Eating rolls all by yourself Fuji! So stingy! Look over there!"

"Un?"

"EEEEEEE! What are you eating?"

"Wasabi sushi."

"Tea! Tea!"

"Itadakimasu!"

"Ah, Momo! You've eaten enough already today!"

"What are you saying? Early bird gets the worm!"

"You're so selfish Momo!"

"Geeze these guys… oh well" I glance up as Ryuuzaki-baba and Tezuka-buchou leave.

* * *

"_**Tadaima!"**_

"Me-yow!"

"Oh Ryoma, did you enjoy your match?"

"It was ok." Ryoma and I looked up to see Oyaji standing in the kitchen doorway. "I got injured, but they said it will heal."

"Eh, injured? HAHAHAHA! What is that?" _he's laughing at all the writing I bet… should I tell Ryoma?... nah, he'll figure it out._

"Ahh, you mean this? It's to commemorate Segaku's victory." _Guess he already did… oh well._

* * *

**AN) Ok guys, first thing I want to say is that I am SO sorry for how long it took to write this chapter! I stopped writing to study for finals and then when I sat back down to write all of my muses for this story had somehow fled and instead I had about 12 plot bunnies for Naruto and Bleach! (Crappy excuse I know but it's the truth!) Next I want to recognize all of my wonderful reviewers, followers, and favorites! You guys truly are the ones who got me back to writing so that I could finish this chapter, so thank you!**

**Reveiws: **yumexxfuture mangakaxx, Ogure Michiyo, coolprettyangel2006 **(I think that's all of you but if I missed one please tell me!)**

**New Followers: **Aki-Shiki2772, AnimePrincessRach, yumexxfuture mangakaxx, iEquinox, Saphem, Ogure Michiyo, Librajem, Kakat, Merilwen-Vendethiel, DarkShadowKun, G3M, coolprettyangel2006, creamfeathers, SilenceintheStorm, Twinwerewolf **(Wow that's a lot!)**

**New Favorites: **Aizawa Li Syaoran Vessalius, SB-KMS-OSN-OHSHC-EDLA, RahzelKane, Ogure Michiyo, Babykanga, Librajem, DarkShadowKun, coolprettyangel2006, SilenceintheStorm,Yaoifan-gurl-forever,Twinwerewolf **(geeze I love you guys!)**

**Ok, now onto more serious matters. I know that my writing style changed briefly for the first part of Ryoma's game (the part with the song). That was to make a point. Right now the twins are EXTREEMLY codependent for reasons that will be reveled later but have been hinted at in this chapter. This will gradually get less and less as the story goes on so I was using their weird semi-synchro to emphasize that. THEY WILL NOT DO THAT VERY OFTEN IF EVER AGAIN! It was a one-maybe-two time thing! Just wanted to clear that up for people who didn't like it or were wondering what happened. There will also be a more in-depth explanation later.**

**Also, many of the people who have reviewed have asked if there will be romance so I figured there must be more people who are wondering but just choose not to review. Yes! There will be romance but it will be fairly subtle. As a warning though, the romance will be mild and almost unnoticeable until we near the end of the fic. If I stick with it long enough to do a sequel there will be more romance there. BUT THERE WILL BE NO LEMONS! **

**Reason 1: is that I am a virgin and have never written anything like that before so I would probably monumentally screw it up**

**Reason 2: is that the main character is ****12**** with most of the other characters being younger than 14 so no, just no. **

**I already have the main pairing up but might put up a poll if I have trouble with side pairings. Not quite yet though.**

**WOW THAT WAS A LONG AUTHOR'S NOTE… thank you again for all who have stuck with my story, I will most likely get the next chapter up sooner than I did this one but I am in my senior year of high school and shit happens so I'm sorry if there is another long break!**


	6. Genius 6- Confrontation and Training

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything cannon from Prince of Tennis, only Ryoko and all changes pertaining to her!**

"Talking in Japanese"

"**Talking in English**"

_Thinking_

_**Twin-Speak**_

Sounds

**Genius 6- Spys, Training and Drinks… OH MY!**

Ok, I knew we got attention from winning the district tournament but I honestly didn't expect all of these people to come and watch our practices. Inui-senpai has even taken to counting all of them; he was at 30-something last time I checked. But that was about half an hour ago so who knows how many are here now. The worst thing is that the players are on edge so their training is not as effective. "Oi minna! Get back to your break! Ignore them… even if they are creeping me out too."

"H-Hai!"

The only ones who seem even moderately at-ease are the second and third year regulars. But then, they probably have some experience with stuff like this.

"Total scouts: 49." Inui-senpai grabbed his own binoculars and stared at all the scouts (read: spies), "While averaging the past two years, it increased 175%."

"Geeze, they just keep coming don't they?" I grin over at my partner, "Should we feed them all Inui-juice?"

"While temping, no. That would be a waist." _More like you're only a sadistic bastard to our team and not anyone else!_

"End of the Break!" Tezuka-buchou yells from across the court, "The next training is for the Regulars. We don't have much time before the prefectural game. Discipline yourselves!"

"HAI!"

Oishi has all the Regulars go on the courts to do practice matches. "Ah, I know I chose not to enter the intra-school matches this time but STILL! I wish I was out there with them, looks fun."

"OH! Snake!" one of the scouts (read: idiot spies) behind me exclaimed, "He's Kaidoh Kaoru! The one who did the Boomerang Snake in the district finals with Fudomine!"

"Look over there, the Vice Captain Oishi! And his opponent is Takashi Kawamura of the Burning Serve!"

"WOW, so this is Seigaku!" _do these guys really have nothing better to do then come watch our practices?_

"It's strange; the freshman who was in the district match isn't here." One of the ones trying to hide in the bushes said. "All the ones on the court are well-known players like Fuji and Kawamura."

"Ah gomen minna, my nii-chan has library duty today so he won't be here till later." I say over my shoulder. Both boys in the bushes jump and look over at me blushing about being caught.

"Nii-chan?"

"Usu, I'm Echizen Ryota. Echizen Ryoma is my older twin brother."

"Ah! Are you in the club?"

"Hai, I'm the club manager for now. I am going to be in the Ranking Tournament next time but I chose not to last time."

"Why not?"

"Because we couldn't have two freshmen come in all of the sudden and beat all of the Regulars, people would start to resent us."

"Ah, I guess that makes sense."

"Also it gives me time to completely analyze the skill levels of all of them, opponents or otherwise."

"Scary…" _heh that got them to leave pretty quickly didn't it?_

"Though that brings up a good point, Ryoma-nii should be done by now. I wonder what's taking him."

* * *

"Are you two going out to the public courts again?"

"Hai."

"Ok, just hurry home after you're done!"

"Hai!"

"Geeze, sometimes I feel like the older sibling." I watch as a couple scouts follow them off school grounds, "Doesn't following them while not at school count as stalking?"

"Saa, I wonder."

"Hi Fuji-senpai." _I didn't even hear him come up behind me!_

"Hello Ryoto-chan." _Shit does he know I'm really a girl?_

"-chan?"

"You're very kawaii." _Oh, I guess that's better than him knowing my secret… but still I'm supposed to be a boy!_

"Boys aren't kawaii." I mumble feeling my cheeks heating up, _well that's embarrassing._

"Saa, I wonder."

"I am a boy!" I turn around to see that he has that stupid half-smile of his on.

"You're very pretty for a boy." _Pretty?... he thinks I'm pretty?... wait a boy wouldn't be happy to be called pretty, shit!_

"I'm not pretty!"

"Saa, it's not a bad thing."

"It's embarrassing for a boy to be pretty."

"Really? I know plenty of boys who could be called pretty."

"Honto?"

"Hai."

"Still…"

"Would you like me to walk you home?"

"Why?"

"Because, it wouldn't do for me to let my cute kohai walk around all by himself now would it? Especially with all of these people we don't know hanging around. One could be an actual stalker."

"But-" he began walking toward the school fence.

"Are you coming?"

"Fine." About 10 minutes into the walk I notice that someone is following us, "Does this happen every year?"

"Yeah, but not usually this bad." Fuji grabs my hand and pulls me down a side street, "we don't want them to know where you're house is right?"

"Ah, hai. You can let go of my hand now."

"Oh, gomen." We keep walking down random side-streets until all of the followers are gone. Before Fuji-senpai finally walks me home.

"Arigato, for helping me senpai." I bow to him outside of the gate.

"It's fine. See you tomorrow, ne Ryota-chan."

"I wish you would stop with the –chan." I mumble

"Alright, Ryota-chan." _Now he's just doing it to annoy me… baka-Tensai._

* * *

"Ah, just when I thought practice was over. We have shopping duty!"

"It's not so bad Horio," I look over at the loud boy, "shopping can be fun sometimes."

"Yeah, it doesn't matter. It's fun!" _Kachiro-chan is so cute to always agree with me._

"We're all fine but Ryoma-kun is probably tired right?"

"Yeah, the Regular's "Special Menu" is pretty hard right?"

"Not really." Heh, Ryoma-nii's uncaring attitude is really quite entertaining sometimes.

"Even though he's a Regluar, a freshman is still a freshman." Momo grinned down at Ryoma, "there's no special treatment for him, but I'll keep an eye on him." He then proceeded to mess up Ryoma's hair.

"Itai."

"AHH! Give it back! Theif!" the shout came from behind us making the whole group turn around.

"Theif?!"

"Get out of the way!"a man yelled coming toward us on roller-blades, "Move it, move it, MOVE IT!"

"Hold this for me!" Momo-senpai shoved his bag into Ryoma's arms and ran toward the guy.

"Senpai!"

"Raaaaa!" he held out his arm, "Momoshiro LARIAT!" the guy ducked under the overly exaggerated swing and kept going. "Oh no!"

"Give it back! My handbag!"

"He got away!"

"Echizen! You take care of the shopping!"

"_**Which one?"**_ we both watched him run past.

"Momo-chan-senpai!"

"It's dangerous!"

"Wait up you bastard!" we watched as he stole someone's bike to chase after the thief. _Wait... isn't that…?_

"Fudomine's Kamio?"

"They… they left…"

"Is he gonna be alright? Momo-chan-senpai?" we all watched as the two boys disappeared down the street.

"I think he'll be ok, but…"

"EH!" _it seems Ibu-san was abandoned too…_

"Oh." He stares at Ryoma who stares right back.

"Oh." _Really. These two…_

"Yo."

"Hn." The rest of us sweat drop at the interaction.

* * *

"Welcome!"

"Ibu-san, you shop here too?"

"What a coincidence. Ah ha ha ha…"

"Somehow neither is mad…" _no but there's a really weird tension all the same…_

"And that guy lost to Ryoma-kun only once."

"Echizen was hurt in the match too."

"Oh right!" Ibu-san turned to where Ryoma was looking at the merchandise, "Echizen-kun how is your injury?"

"It healed already."

"They talked!" _these three really are too nosy for their own good. They're making it into something it's not._

"Then, their being nice to each other?"

"That's not right." _The staring is getting a little weird though… I'm just going to stay out of it… _"This atmosphere doesn't happen when you are being nice to each other."

"Ryota-kun do something!"

"Yare, yare! You two are being ridiculous! Nii-chan grab what you want while I get the stuff on Inui-senpai's list!"

"Hai."

"And you three, just ignore them and come help me!"

"H-Hai."

* * *

"Please come again!" the man at the counter said after ringing-up our stuff, "Here's your change."

"Thanks."

"Good luck in the prefectural tournament!"

"Arigato Gozainmasu!"

"Hopefully, next time there won't be any injuries."

"AHHH!" all three of the other freshman leaped to cover the man's mouth and looked nervously at the two who were still looking around."

"Really, you guys! They're not going to get in a fight just like that!"

"Demo…"

"Then why is everyone so tense?" _because you guys are expecting something to happen…_

"Oh!" they both say at the same time, "I found it!" then they reached for the same box of grip tape.

"Hand it over."

"Yadda!"

"Finally, it starts!"

"Ah, gomen Eiji!" _that sounds like Taka-senpai._

"It's fine, it needed repairing anyway."

"Kikumaru-senpai! Kawamura-senpai!"

_They're staring again…_

"Hand it over."

"Yadda."

"I said hand it over, so hand it over."

"I said no, so that means no!"

"Hand it over!"

"Yadda!"

"You are such a pain…" _here comes the muttering_ "Hand it over."

"Yadda!"

"It sucks but that one is so popular that I only have one left." Says the salesman nervously watching the two boys argue over the grip tape.

"What's going on?"

"Fudomine's Ibu-san is arguing with nii-chan over the last of that kind of grip tape."

"Kikumaru-sampai! Please stop them!"

"Nya?" he looked to where the two were STILL STARING AT EACHOTHER each holding one side of the box, "GO Echizen! Even if you have to put Seigaku's name in the bet, you have to get it!" _and now we have Eiji-senpai cheering for nii-chan, I don't think that's what Horio meant._

"AH! No way!"

"He's making it worse!"

"Stop it! If Tezuka or Ryuuzaki-sensei knew about this, they'd be mad."

"But we're still going to fight with Fudomine during the Prefectural tournament!" Eiji-senpai turned to Taka-senpai, "We will look bad if we lose now! GO Ochibi!"

"Even if you say that, I know." _Heh, Ryoma-nii has his stubborn-brat face on._

"Same here…" in the end they decided to split the price and decide elsewhere. _Bakas._

"It's troublesome for the shop… so we have to decide elsewhere…"

"Where did Momo-chan-senpai go?"

"Oh, we just saw Momo running toward the tennis court with Kamio a while ago."

"What if…"

"That side too…"

"… if some sort of match is going on…"

* * *

"So how are we going to decide?"

"It should be tennis."

"Yosh! If you lose you have to drink Inui's special juice in one drink!"

"NO WAY!"

"What is that?" Ibu-san asks curiously.

"_**You don't want to know."**_

"…actually I have some right here… if you'd like to give it a try, apparently it's very healthy." is smirk and pull out a water bottle full of the stuff that Inui gave me.

"NO WAY!" Both Ryoma and Eiji-senpai try to get as far from me and the water bottle as possible.

"AH THEIF!"

"I have an idea… the one who can serve the best and stop him wins!"

"Hai."

Both took out a racket and ball and prepared to serve. The roller-blade thief came closer, "Service! Seigaku and Fudomine!" Kikumaru whistled really loud and they through the balls up in the air, both making almost identical motions to serve the balls in their respective serve. Ryoma's was the one that connected hitting the thief right under his chin. _Ouch._

"End of match! Game to Seigaku's Echizen!"

"So, that's how it is."

"Hn."

"Now, be a man and go the police." Said Taka-senpai who what kneeling by the thief. Then out of nowhere came a very angry… very beat up Kaidoh-senpai. _What happened to him?_

"Kaidoh?"

"Wow you look pretty beat up; did you do extra training again?"

"You… you bastard." He then grabbed the thief by the front of his shirt and lifted him off the ground.

"Ah! Stop it! Kaidoh!"

"Just because of this guy…"

"Ah, sorry for being late!" _and there's Momo-senpai… why am I not surprised…_

"Momo-chan-senpai!"

"Momo! Who has the best reflexes in Seigaku!" _not the time Eiji-senpai…_

"Eh?"

"Impressive, Echizen-kun. But it won't do in the prefecturals. You'd better be prepared for it."

"His habit starts again!"

"After all you're just a freshman."

"He looks regretfull…"

"Being late for school is not something you should make a habit of…"

"MOMO!"

"Calm down, Kikumaru-senpai!"

"Stop it Kaidoh! I said no!"

"…that's not even something I can help. Moreover you couldn't even protect yourself that time…"

"You have nowhere to run now!"

"Stop it Kaidoh!"

"…you could have done damage to your memories you know..."

"Save me! I won't do it again, I promise!"

"When did I ever say that?"

"I heard, I definitely heard it!"

"Hey, Momoshiro! Can I leave now?"

"…you should have more common sense…"

"_**Mada mada dane."**__These idiots…_

"…but that doesn't matter in a match."

* * *

"Regulars gather around!" the call from Tezuka came two days later. The exercise Inui-senpai and I came up with is fairly simple, but harder then it seems. _Let's see how many victims we get today… just in time to unveil Inui-senpai's new juice too. _"There are 9 days left until the prefectural tournament begins. From today on the Regulars will be practicing with a special menu. Ryota, please explain the exercise."

"Hai, Buchouu!" I came over to stand in front of the board, "This exercise will be a rally with restrictions on where the ball can go. It's called Zone Practice."

"Eh, sounds interesting!" _it's not as easy as it looks Eiji-senpai._

"You will be split up by play style to show where you can and can't hit the ball then be directed to rally against each other. Inui-senpai, please come explain the split ups."

"The differences between the Regular's play styles are as follows," he pointed to a list on the board. "Counter Puncher, who stay at the baseline and wait for opponent's misses with stable strokes. Kaidoh, Fuji and Oishi. Aggressive Baseliner, who also stays at the baseline but fiercely, attacks. Kawamura and Momoshiro. Serve & Volley, who has talents in both speed and reflexes centered on net play. Kikumaru. And finally Tezuka and Echizen who are All-rounders. They use different techniques in order to maximize their overall strength." He nodded for me to take over.

"The Counter Punchers and Serve & Volley; Oishi-fukubuchou, Fuji-senpai, Kaidoh-senpai and Eiji-senpai. You will have to guard the entire side of your court. And the Aggressive Baseliners and All-rounders; Taka-senpai, Momo-senpai, Tezuka-buchouu and Ryoma-nii will have to attack using only half of their quart. Each match will be 5-rallys. Players on defense must return to the shaded part only. If you hit anywhere outside of the shaded part, you lose." I looked at all the Regulars to see them listening intently. "The attacking players will lose if they cannot score a point during the 5 rallies."

"So all in all, us attackers just need to finish it within 5 rallies right?"

"Correct nii-chan… but it will be harder than you think." I smirked looking at all the attackers, _yes it will be harder then they think._

"On the other hand, the defenders win if they don't lose a point in 5 rallies right?"

"Again, that's correct Oishi-fukutaich. And again, it will be harder than you think."

"On top of that. If you lose, please drink Inui's special vegetable juice." I looked at the green… stuff and shuddered before smirking again at the Regulars watching all of their faces pale with dread. _How's that for motivation?_

"Ok! Start practicing now!"

"First match-up! Taka-senpai vs. Kaidoh-senpai!"

"It would be unfair to let either side serve, so I will start it off!"

"What'd be unfair? Mamushi-kuzou!" _well, Taka-senpai already has his game face on. I wonder who will lose this one…_ "**HERE, HERE, COME ON!** I'LL SHOW YOU MY BURNING SHOT! DON'T YOU GET SCARED NOW."

"Bastard…"

"Here it is! GO!" Kaidoh emeidiately started it off with a Snake.

"Ok, Mamu-chan, IM GOING TO END IT! **GREAT!**" Kaidoh hit the shot back, "TO EASY! HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE!" another Snake. "LAST! **STRONG BURNING!**"

"There it is! Boomerang Snake!"

"OUT!" _oops, this time it went too far! I guess Kaidoh-senpai still needs to work on that! I guess he'll be the first tester (read: victim) of the drink._ "OK GREAT! **Delicous! VICTORY!**"

I can't help but snicker at the dramatic reaction to Inui-senpai's drink by Kaidoh-senpai.

"Next! Full court- Oishi, half-court- Momoshiro."

"Hello! Please take it easy on me."

"Same here."

"GUAAA!" _and there he goes… 3… 2… 1… AND WE HAVE A KNOCK OUT LADIES AND GENTALMEN! I repeat he is unconscious!_

"Oi, are you alright?"

"What exactly did he drink!"

"Oi! Kaidoh!"

"That new drink of yours is very potent, Inui-senpai." I turn to our Training Instructor and comment watching everyone's reactions to the new drink.

"Hai, would you like to try some?"

"Haha, no I think you have plenty of testers (read: victims) for today so I'll have to pass." I look over to where both Momo-senpai and Oishi-fukubuchouu were playing much harder than they normally would in a friendly practice game. "It definitely gives good motivation though."

"As expected from Oishi-fukubuchouu! Sticking with it like this…" they rallied for a little longer until Oishi-fukubuchouu made a mistake… he hit a volley.

"Oh no!"

"Senpai, since I can't just stand by your side today…" Momo-senpai leaped into the air, "I'm going to jump now!"

"There it is!" Dunk Smash!"

"He's using it to finish the game!" Oishi caught the fast moving smash two handed but the ball was so hard that he lost the racket.

"Wow…"

"Impressive…"

"Great…"

"It seems that Momo-senpai has gotten stronger."

"Ie data."

"WAAAH!"

"Oishi!"

"Oishi! Hang in there!"

Tezuka-buchou and Fuji-senpai's game happened so fast it was over in the blink of an eye. _Heh, buchou must really not want to drink that stuff to use a Zero-Shiki right off the bat… Fuji-senpai didn't even try to get it… weirdo actually likes those drinks._

"That was fast… the game ended already…

"As expected of Tezuka-buchou. Even against Fuji-senpai…"

"Just now, you played seriously ne…" Fuji-senpai smirked.

"Of course."

"It's a shame!" _Momo-senpai really needs to learn how to whisper…_ "It'd have been funny if the captain had to drink that."

"Didn't you give up quickly, Fuji?"

"Yeah, I also wanted to try Inui's drink again." _I knew it… weirdo._ Water came out of the bottle Inui-senpai was using to pour the cups.

"It says Tezuka." We all look over to where Tezuka-buchou is drinking out of Inui-senpai's bottle… _I guess he has to drink it anyway…_

"Oh."

"Ehhh…" theres a collective intake of breath by the entire team… and there's no reaction.

"What are you staring at? Hurry and start the next match."

"What the?"

"Unexpectedly, he seems ok…"

"He must have some tough nerves I guess…" _yeah, except that his hands are shaking…_

"There's no way around it." Inui-senpai is twitching, "I had reserved it for the national tournament… I'll have to use that…" _I think I'm the only one who notices Inui-senpai's muttering, is he like specifically targeting Buchou with those drinks? Scary._ "I finished this the other day." He holds out a drink that is more brown then green. _Ok, I REALLY don't want that one!_ "With special ingredients, this is Golden Power Remix Inui Juice."

"Inui Juice?"

"What's in it?"

"Is it really drinkable?" _suddenly the other freshmen look really nervous… I wonder what their talking about…_

"It doesn't just contain vegetables anymore…"

"AH!" _it doesn't just contain vegetables?... so what's in it?"_

"If they don't know…"

"They'd be happier…"

"What don't we know?"

"AHHHHH!" they all jumped about a foot.

"Well…"

"There's…"

"That is we think there's…"

"Oh, just spit it out already!"

"We think he put a dead bug in there."

"Nani!" I look over at where all the Regulars that are still conscious are looking nervously at the new drink. "Yeah… it would be better if they don't know, I wonder if it's safe to drink though…"

_Kikumaru-senpai looks very serious._ "I'll never drink that juice!"

"You don't need to be so reserved. It looks tasty, Kikumaru-senpai." _Now I'm conflicted… Ryo-nii's being a brat again._

"Oh! This time it's a match between Echizen and Kikumaru-senpai!"

"Go!"

"I just can't lose to Ochibi-kun. Hoi ta! Whoever takes the lead wins!"

"Aren't we serious, Kikumaru-senpai!" _corner shot._

"Lightly, lightly. First off, 1 down!"_ Acrobatics right from the start… Eiji-senpai really is serious…_ "Nya, mada mada! Hoi hoi, here's number 2! Hoi, third shot!"

"Oh! Geez!" _nii-chan is smirking… _"I sure do have a lot of cunning senpais." _Oops we forgot to tell them about attackers and the front… sorry nii-chan I guess you just died._

"Oh we forgot to mention, when the attacker decides to go for net play. He has to play the entire side of his court. _Gomen… nii-chan._

"Eh… you're kidding!"

"Are you serious!"

"We told you it's harder then it looks."

"Just as he said!" Kikumaru is the one similing now, "Sorry about that Ochibi-kun! Zannen munnen mata raishu!" he's going strait toward Inui-senpai and the ball cart!

"I've always wanted to try this once!" Acrobatics between the legs! "Hoi!"

"Acrobatics! Are you serious? On top of that, it's an extra difficult between the legs shot!" _well I guess it isn't the end for nii-chan after all… gomen Eiji-senpai._

"Awesome!"

"Geez…" backwards jump, and he got it!... but… "Ochibi-kun, it's already been 5 shots!" _nevermind_… Ryoma is so stunned he just hit it unconcously… "Yay Yay my VICTO-"

"Was that his face?"

"Hey Echizen! What do you think you're doing?" _eh… he's fine._ "Geez… INUI! Give this kid as much Inui Juice Special or whatever it's called as possible!" _that's a little much though…_

"With added ingredients, it's Special Golden Power Remix Inui Juice." _Poor nii-chan._

"WAH! Ugh…"

* * *

"Ok! Gather!" we all walk over and gather around Ryuuzaki-baa-chan, "The listing for the prefectural tournament has been decided already. Huh? Seems like there are fewer people then normal…"

"Some members of the team were subject to testing of Inui's new drink."

"With added ingredients, it's Special Golden Power Remix Inui Juice. Would you like to try?"

"Oh… no thanks" _even baa-chan hates those… _ "108 schools after the preliminaries. Each and every one of them are strong. Only 5 teams will get into the Kantou regional tournament."

"Fudomine would face Hyoutei Gakuen before us huh…"

"We'll be playing your otouto's school St. Rudolph, in the best 8 match right, Fuji?"

"Hn." _Fuji's otouto?_

"Ok! We have come to face these schools now. We're aiming for the championship, alright? Let's do it!"

"Yosh! Practice continue! Next, its combination!" _this should be interesting…_

"Whoever doesn't want to do it… this will be waiting…" _yeah, everyone's gonna pick combination practice over that crap._ They all run to their courts. _Yep._

"What are you smirking about baba-chan?"

"Don't call me granny gaki! I'm just excited for prefecturals."

"Sure you are… baa-chan!" I run over to Inui-senpai and Tezuka-buchou before she can turn around and grab me.

"YOU BRAT!"

"Hide me senpai!" both just stare at me before going back to watching the games. _Typical… what's wrong with Buchou's arm, he's acting like it hurts some._

* * *

Nothing really of interest has happened till now... Well except for when Ryoma took Ryuuzaki-chan to get her strings fixed as a favor to baa-chan and everyone thought it was a date… and Oyaji decided to act like some creepy stalker dude…

But anyway… Now I have no idea what to do in this situation.

"So what do you say, Ryota-chan. Can we have a practice match at your house? I already OK'd it with Ryuuzaki-sensei."

"I guess… but why me, and why at my house?"

"Saa, I guess I want to see you play. You are the only one on the team who no one has seen play, and I know you and Ryoma have a court at your house."

"Sure…" he turns around and walks away, _that was weird._

Later that day Ryoma disappeared off somewhere right after class and I ended up walking home with Fuji-senpai instead of going to practice. _Why is he doing this?_

"What is the rest of your family like, Ryota-kun?"

"I don't know, Oyaji can be kind of creepy and weird sometimes, kaa-san is nice but busy with her job a lot… Nanako-chan takes care of the house and does most of the cooking when she's not at her classes, Karupin is only nice to Ryoma-nii and me (she likes to bite Oyaji's feet), Kiki-chan is Kiki-chan."

"Karupin? Kiki-chan?"

"Karupin is Nii-chan's cat"

"What about Kiki-chan."

"She's mine."

"Is she a cat?"

"Guinni Pig."

"Kawaii!" he is doing his stupid not-smile again. "Can I meet Kiki-chan?"

"Maybe." I open the gate and hold it for Fuji-senpai then call out the normal greeting, "Tadaima!"

"Okaeri! What about practice? And where's Ryoma-san?" came Nanako-chan's reply from inside the house.

"Gomen kudasai."

"oh, Irasshai."

"Nanako-chan, this is Fuji-senpai from the tennis team. He asked to come over for a practice match with me and Ryuuzaki-baa-chan said it was ok."

"Konichiwa, Nanako-san."

"Well then I guess its ok, please come in and I'll make some tea. Ryota-san, why don't you go show him the temple?"

"Ok, arigato Nanako-chan."

"It's alright Ryota-san, you and Ryoma-san never have friends over so it's a pleasure to meet one of your Senpais." she turned and bowed to Fuji-senpai, "Thank you for taking care of these two."

"It's no trouble at all; they are very good at tennis."

"It runs in the family, anyone with the name Echizen seems be a natural-born player." She smiled one more time at the two of us before going into the house to make the tea she had promised.

"Follow me and I'll show you around." I led him around the house to the back yard where the steps up to the temple were and we began the long climb up.

"I didn't know you two had a temple at your house."

"Then how did you know about the tennis court?... it's part of the temple."

"One of you mentioned playing a match after practice and I assumed you either had one at or near your home to be able to play every night."

"Oh. Well, here we are." We walked out into the courtyard where Oyaji built the tennis court and I looked around wondering where the lazy pervert was. _I guess he's either in the house or out somewhere…_

"It's very peaceful here."

"Not when Oyaji's around, ero-baka."

"You call your father a stupid pervert?"

"Well he acts like one most of the time so the name fits."

"Oh." And there's that stupid smile again… weirdo.

"I guess we should just start, we can take a break when Nanako-chan brings the tea." Fuji-senpai just nods and puts his bag down by the temple. He takes out his racket while I get two balls and my own racket from inside the temple. "Ne, Fuji-senpai. Why did you really ask me to do this?"

"Saa, I wonder."

"Hn, please give me a good game then. I haven't seriously played anyone but Ryoma-nii and Oyaji-baka in a couple months."

"Well then I guess I will have to go all out."

"Please do." We went to our respective courts and I got ready to serve. I bounced the ball 5 times before I threw it high in the air and leaped after it hitting it from a much higher place then Ryoma normally does. The ball flew through the air and landed at Fuji-senpai's feet spinning for a second before flying strait up toward the sky. Fuji-senpai moved out of the way but carefully watched the ball's flight.

"You're twist has more spin then Ryoma's but his is more powerful."

"The amount of spin is because of how high I jumped, I am faster and more agile then Ryoma-nii but he has stronger hits."

"I see."

"May I serve again now?"

"Yep, just testing you." _Annoying Tensai…_ I serve the ball again the same way, this time Fuji-senpai moves and hits the spinning ball back to me. We start to rally, the ball going back and forth at increasing speeds. _I haven't played someone this challenging in a long time, and I doubt this is his true skill. _That thought reminds me of the time I saw his first triple counter, Tsubame Gaeshi.

"There are three triple counter's right?" I slice the ball toward him across the court

"Hai." He backhands the ball back to me not even breathing very hard.

"What are the names for the others?" I return the ball with my right hand, I'm not breathing very hard at this point either. Neither of us is playing with our full potential.

"Higuma Otoshi and Hakugei."

"May I see them?"

"Only if you can force me to use them." _Well then, I guess I'd better get serious._ The next hit the ball at full power almost doubling its speed. The ball fly's over Fuji-senpai's shoulder making his hair fly around before hitting directly on the baseline. Fuji-senpai's smile widens and his eyes open just a fragment. _Maybe if I show him something I created he'll show me one of the counters... he might also help me with my problem…_ I take out the other ball while he gets back into position and wait at the baseline this time with my racket in my left hand.

"This is a serve I have been working on for a while but I can't quite seem to get it right, I can never control where it's going to fly after the bounce." I widen my stance and turn so my shoulders are perfectly perpendicular to the net. I twist my wrist when I throw the ball up creating a horizontal spin on the ball in a clockwise direction. Just before the ball gets to the highest it will I jump up and spin my body in a counter-clockwise direction before hitting the ball at its peak. The ball arches around the post holding up the net and hits the court where it sits there spinning. As soon as my feet touch back on the ground the ball shoots off to the left and lands in the bushes. "Damn I thought it would go right this time." I mutter before looking up to see Fuji-senpai watching me with fully opened eyes. A shiver goes down my spine at the look in his eye. _He has a really intense stare… but the color is kind of… pretty... _ we stare at each other for what feels like hours across the court until I finally relent and look at my feet. "So… you're the only one who's seen that serve, I haven't even shown it to nii-chan yet because I can't figure out how to control it quite yet… what do you think?"

"Did you create it yourself?"

"H-hai…"

"Does it have a name?"

"No… not yet…"

"You won't be able to control it unless you limit the amount of spin on the ball but that will make it less effective and it will be easier to hit, it will be best if you leave it as it is."

"Arigato, Senpai."

"You should think of a name before you use it though, and wait to use it until you have no other choice ok?"

"Hai."

"Do you still want to see one of my triple counters? There is a good wind today."

"H-hai."

"Then start a rally please."

"Hai… arigato Senpai!"

I serve a normal but fast serve this time and he cleanly receives it, we rally for about 7 more hits before Fuji-senpai gets into a strange position I have never seen before. _This is it._ The stance is for a backhand with the racket directly behind his head. Senpai hits the ball and it flies directly toward me bouncing at my feet. I get in position to return the ball but it instead flies directly up in front of my face and goes behind me. Before I know it, the ball is flying directly past my ear and Senpai is holding it in his outstretched hand. "That is Hakugei."

"That… was amazing senpai." The words come out in a breathless whisper and I just know that my eyes are wide with amazement. I quickly stand up straight and bow. "Thank you very much for showing me that Fuji-senpai!" when I look back up Senpai's eyes are closed again and he is smiling at me.

"Thank you for your compliment and for showing me your serve. I have something I would like to ask you though." _…something to ask?_

"Sure… ask anything."

"Why do you hide you're gender?"

* * *

**AN) ok guys I know it was really mean to stop it on such a huge cliffhanger that everyone has been waiting so eagerly for but I couldn't resist, it just seemed like the perfect place to stop.**

**With this chapter I give you the first BIG plot change that has to do with Ryoko. Fuji and Ryoko's game (if it can really even be called that, it's more of a confrontation really…) is happening at the same time as Ryoma and Tezuka's game beneath the train tracks in the cannon. That game is still happening but Ryoko doesn't know about it, just like Ryoma doesn't know about this game that is happening now. You also get to see the first of Ryoko's personal moves; she will not be using any of Ryoma's Drives as they are his and not hers. The two of them will NOT have identical playing styles (that would eliminate the reasoning behind having them be separate people and not just having this be a fem!Ryoma fic).**

**Next chapter will be the big explanation behind Ryoko's gender and a pretty big piece of back-story from when the twins were children (as in, even before Ryoga left) that is VERY different from canon. Please wait patiently.**

**Now! Onto more lighthearted things! THANK YOU TIME!**

**As always thank you to all of my beloved reviewers/followers/favorites! For the last chapter I didn't get any reviews from any of my older followers but I got not only my first guest reviewer but like 5 of them! Anyway, these are my new followers/favorites:**

**Followers: **Evangeline43, Zezette-the-best, Saphire Castor, amutoxtakari, Persnickety Haberdashery, Ishieeee, SilverNeira, Caelen12, Sasakicheez, IfLooksCouldKill13, Piczu, KuroBara311, Mailumia

**Favorites: **tennisgirl16, iEquinox, SilverNeira

**Responses to Reveiws: **thank you to all of the Guest reviewers that gave me encouragements and praise for my story

**Yuu (Guest): **you asked a question about why my virginity has anything to do with romance from my last AN, I was connecting it to why there will be no Lemon (scenes involving sex) or Lime (scenes involving sexual play {ie) BJs, HJs, ect.} scenes. I hope that was clear but if it wasn't I apologize. Thank you for your encouragement, and yes I will try my best to make what little romance there is in this story as interesting as possible for all of my wonderful readers.


	7. Genius 7- A Painfull Explanation

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything cannon from Prince of Tennis, only Ryoko and all changes pertaining to her!**

**!WARNING!**

**This chapter contains kidnapping, child abuse, slavery, prostitution, and mentions of child-rape. If any of these topics offend you or you just don't want to read this part please just skip this chapter. I promise to have a much vaguer summary in the beginning of the next chapter. I will have another warning right before the rape scene that will tell you where to go to skip it you just don't want to read that part!**

"Talking in Japanese"

"**Talking in English**"

_Thinking/Flashback_

_**Twin-Speak**_

Sounds

* * *

**Genius 7- A Painful Explanation**

"Wha-what?" the racket fell out of my hand with a clatter and I stood staring at the blue eyed boy in shock. _How can he possibly know?_

"I asked, why you hide that you are really a girl." His eyes are fully open again and that intense expression is back, he is waiting.

"What makes you think I'm a girl?"

"For one you're far prettier than any boy I have ever met, even the most effeminate boy would not look the way you do. Sometimes you act and talk like a girl, I have been suspicious for a while but I wanted to confirm before I asked."

"And how did you finally get this confirmation?" I try to think back on everything I said and did today that would give him some definite evidence that I was a girl. I couldn't think of anything.

"When you served your shirt rode up and I saw the bottom of some bandages. You don't move like you are injured so you are probably using them to keep your chest from showing what little any 12 year old girl can have in that area."

"You- you looked up my shirt? You Pervert!" I step toward him more angry that I had gotten caught then that he had seen my bandages. At least he only saw the edge. _7 years! 7 whole years and this jerk has to go figure it out!_

"I would like to know," his expression softens slightly and he sits back against one of the trees surrounding the tennis court. "Please."

I stare at him for a couple minutes contemplating, should I tell him my story or should I kick him out of my house and run the risk of him telling someone else? The answer is obvious; I have to tell him… but how much?

"It's quite a long story… would you like the shortened version?" I desperately want him to accept the short version but somehow know it won't happen.

"I am willing to listen for however long I need to." I stare into his eyes trying to find some sort of compromise but know there will be none. I sigh and close my eyes letting my chin fall so that my bangs cover my face

"Alright, I will tell you. But first you must promise me two things."

"What are they?"

"The first is that you won't ever tell ANYONE anything I tell you without my express permission in person. The second is that you listen to the whole story without interrupting. If you don't I won't be able to finish it all."

"Alright I promise both." I look up at him in shock; I honestly thought it would be harder to get him to promise the first thing but he didn't even hesitate to say yes. _Maybe I can share the whole story with him… heh, I haven't told this story in a while. And never to someone I didn't really have to._ I watch Fuji-senpai for a little while longer contemplating how much I should tell him.

"Fine," I sit down and cross my legs leaning against a different tree so that we are facing each other. "The first thing you should know is that my real name isn't Echizen Ryota. That is a fake name me and my family made up after the story that I am going to tell you so that I could fit into normal society again." I reach up to where my hair is tied in a high ponytail and pull out the rubber hair band. "My real name is Echizen Ryoko and I am Echizen Ryoma's younger twin sister." He nods and I take a breath before continuing.

"When I was 5 years old there was a string of kidnappings all across California where I lived. All the kidnappings were of children, mostly girls but some were particularly pretty boys…

**Flashback 7 Years 5 Months Before**

_Two children toss around small bright yellow balls in the park. One child, the girl, has long indigo hair and a white dress on. The boy, her brother, has short emerald hair and with a much-to-large white fila cap hanging off his head at an angle. Their mother, a pretty young woman sits on a bench watching the two play while waiting for her husband and their eldest son to come back from the small store on the corner of he street where they are getting drinks for everyone. _

_The man and oldest boy had been gone a long time and the woman starts to get worried, "__**Ryoma! Ryoko! Come on, I want to see what you're father and brother are doing! But I need you both to come with me!**__" both children look up from their play and then look at each other before dropping all of the balls and running to their mother._

"_**Coming mommy!**__" the woman, knowing her children are following, turns around to grab her bag and doesn't see the man who was hiding in the bushes watching the two children. She turns around when she hears her daughter scream to see a man running away carrying her unconscious daughter over one shoulder while her son lies on the ground with a small amount of blood coming out of his temple. She runs to her son and quickly calls her husband telling him what happened in a panicked voice before calling the police. The ambulance arrives 10 minutes later along with two police cars but by that time the man and girl are long gone._

**Flashback End**

I take a breath and look up to see Fuji-senpai's reaction so far. He has his face down in a way similar to how I had mine while telling the first part of my story with is hair covering the expression on his face. But his shoulders are rigid and quivering showing anger. His ands are fisted in the grass by his sides as if he is desperately trying not to lash out.

"Fuji-senpai?"

"You were kidnapped?"

"Hai." My voice is small, much more venerable then I had meant it to be. I caugh before continuing, "Would you like me to continue? It gets worse from here…"

"How much worse?"

"…"

"Ryoko, tell me the truth… how much worse?"

"A lot…" he takes a long shuddering breath before raising his head, his eyes flashing with an icy blue anger that chills me to my very core. I almost physically pull away from him before I realize it's not me he's mad at, it's the bastards who hurt me… somehow that thought is comforting. He closes his eyes and takes a few more breaths visibly calming himself down before nodding for me to continue.

**Flashback 7 Years 2½ Months Before**

_Ryoko was cold. She had been in the dark room for so long she couldn't really remember much about Outside anymore. _

_She could remember her Mommy's voice, her quiet laugh, her warm hugs, and her teasing butterfly kisses… but not her face._

_She could remember Daddy's loud laugh, the funny games where he would throw her up in the air, his nickname for her ("Princess"), and the look in his eyes whenever he was talking to Mommy… but not his face. _

_She could remember her Big Brother, the games where he would chase her and Ryoma around the house pretending to be a big monster then catch them and tickle them until they couldn't breath from laughing, how he would always give her the most yummy things from his plate and take the yucky things off and eat them for her when Mommy wasn't looking, how he would secretly whisper in her ear that she was his favorite because Ryoma was such an "uncute brat"… but not his face. _

_She could remember Ryoma. She could remember everything about Ryoma, he was her twin, he was her other half, he was part of her. She would always remember Ryoma. His was the name she called out in the darkness when she got too scared. His face was the last thing she saw in her mind before she drifted off into each fitfull sleep. His voice was the first thing she heard in the mornings before she remembered that he wasn't there… that she had been taken away from them… from all of them._

_She would get food shoved through a small flap under what she assumed was the door three times a day… or at least what she assumed was the day. She hadn't seen actual daylight in a long, long time. There was also a pot in her room that she had figured out was supposed to be the potty. It was somehow clean each morning when she woke up so someone must come in to clean it. She had tried to stay up all night to see who but could never stay awake the whole night to see._

_But then it changed. The door opened and a man came in. He grabbed her and tied up her hands before pulling her out of the dark room. She blinked at the harsh light of the hallway and looked around to see many doors like the one she had just come through and coming out each one was another girl, or at least most were girls. There were a few boys. All of the girls (and boys) looked just as scared as her. Some were dirtier than others. Some were a little older but she was definitely one of the youngest. All of the ropes were tied together so they were all in one long line. Then the men made them move down the hallway. Any time someone talked the men would hit them on the back of the head… not hard, just a warning to be quiet._

_They turned down many more hallways until they came into a small room where the men untied them and made them all undress. There were lots of showers along the walls along with lots of stalls with real potties in them, not like the pot from her room. The men made all of the children take showers and go potty before giving them new clothes. Scratchy short dresses that wrapped around Ryoko's body and tied at the waist for the girls and short pants and tank-tops for the boys._

_After the shower all of the children were tied up in a line again and taken down more hallways to a room where they had to wait while one by one they were checked by a doctor. He checked their weight, height, eyes, ears, tummy, arms, feet, mouth, and many other things writing each one down carefully. They were then each given a thick necklace with a tag hanging off of it. Each tag had a number._

_The children were then taken down even more hallways into a big room with lots of lights pointing at them. They were on a platform above the floor where lots of men and women were seated in chairs looking up at them._

**Flashback End**

I take some deep breaths to try to abate the panic that was slowly trying to overtake my mind. Fuji-senpai must have known what I was doing because he put one of his hands on where both of mine were clenched in my lap making me jump and look up at him. He looked directly into my eyes; his normally fierce blue eyes softer then I had ever seen them as he slowly raised his other hand to my cheek to gently wipe the single tear that was making its way across my cheek off. Somehow his touch and eyes calmed me, centered me, helped me remember that I was not there. That I hadn't been there for a very long time.

Slowly I resumed telling my story.

**Flashback Resumes 7 Years 2½ Months Before**

_All of the people were looking up at them. Everything was silent until a man with a big smile and a fancy suit came up to stand on the stage. He was carrying one of those things that singers use… Mommy had once told Ryoko that it was called a Micro-something… the man raised the micro-something up to his lips and began to speak._

"_**Welcome ladies and gentlemen…**__" Ryoko stopped listening after that and started to look around at the nicely decorated room. She didn't think she had ever seen a room so nice. All of the sudden one of the men from earlier came and took the girl on the end off of the line and held the rope from her wrist out to the man with the micro-something. He brought the girl forward so that she was standing apart from everyone else. Ryoko started listening again after this._

"_**This first one is a female with soft blonde hair and light green eyes, she was retrieved from Fresno. She is in perfect health for her 8 years of age at 3'9" tall and 55 lbs. We will start the bidding at $50…**__" it went on and on as each child was taken off the line and given to one of the men and women on the floor. Some children went faster than other but all were eventually given away… until it was Ryoko's turn._

"_**Number 16 is a special prize. She is about 5 years old and slightly small at 3'2" and 36.1 lbs but her looks are very exotic with long dark blue hair and golden eyes. She should be a real hit. We will start the bidding for Number 16 at $100. Can I get $100?**__" the people in the chairs below them started raising the weird fans with numbers that they had been raising all day like crazy until the smiling man eventually yelled. "__**SOLD TO #964 for $1,600!**__" Ryoko didn't really know what just happened but she knew that she had been standing there longer than any of the others. The man who had taken her out of her room came and grabbed her rope again pulling her much more gently off the stage to the side where she was put in a chair and told to wait until the end. The rope taken off one of her wrists and the other end was tied to the chair so that she could move around but not go far. Ryoko was then given a book with lots of pretty pictures to look at._

**Flashback End**

I close my eyes again and slightly lean toward Fuji-senpai seeking comfort. Without a question he lets me put my head in his lap. He begins to run his fingers through my long hair silently waiting for me to continue but never pushing me. I enjoy the feel of his fingers in my hair for a few minutes before continuing my story.

**Flashback 7 Years 2½ Months Before**

_After the man who Ryoko had been sold to had come and picked her up along with one of the boys that had been there and two other girls they all piled into a white van with no windows and were put in car seats. The man had driven for a long time and Ryoko fell asleep along with the three other children until the van pulled to a stop and the man came around to get them. He took them out of the van into a big red building through the back door. Before anything else another man came in and took each of our left hands putting a hot thing on each one until it left a dark burning mark a number on each one. That hand was then wrapped loosely in cloth. It hurt really really bad and each one of the children screamed. Ryoko was scared._

_The four children were lead to another room where they are given food then once again bathed. This time four older girls came in, they were wearing weird clothes. Shirts that showed off their belly or were see-through and under-panties with no pants. They helped the four children bathe being especially careful with the hands that the man had put the mark on. They lathered each of the children's hair gently with shampoo and conditioner before draining their baths and spreading pretty-smelling oil all across their bodies. The older girls all looked at the children with pity and sadness in their eyes but none of them talked. _

_The children were then dressed up in new outfits similar to the girls. These clothes were much softer than the old scratchy dresses. Ryoko was given a green shirt that was short sleeved and tight but showed off her belly. The color reminded her of Ryoma and his pretty green hair. She was also given a see through blue skirt with little bells around the end that jingled whenever she moved the skirt had a pair of panties attached that weren't see through to cover the parts that Mommy said nobody but Ryoko's husband was allowed to touch. They then gave her pretty bracelets that also had bells on them for her wrists and ankles. One of the girls played with her hair braiding it into lots of tiny braids that each had a small metal bead attacked to the end so they made sounds whenever she moved her head._

_Then each of the older girls took one of the children to a different part of the building. The girl who took Ryoko told that her name was Marie but to call her Eternity. Eternity had long red hair and light blue eyes that were kind… kind of like Mommy. Eternity told Ryoko that she was going to be a dancer and that was what the bells and pretty clothes were for. So she would make pretty sounds when she danced. Eternity then showed her easy dance steps that sometimes included harder things like flips on her hands and cartwheels. Ryoko stayed with Eternity in her room for 9 days and they learned the dances before Eternity told her that she was done and she needed to choose a new name now. One like Eternity's a pretty name that she would tell the people she danced for. Eternity told he to keep her real name close to her and never let it go because a real name was very special… more special than anything. But Ryoko disagreed. She thought that her memories of Ryoma were more special than anything else… even her name._

_Ryoko chose to be called Princess because that's what Daddy called her. She was "Daddy's Hime-chan" which meant princess. Princess then spent lots of time dancing for the people that came to see her and became very good. She even got her own room with a soft bed and lots of different outfits that all had the same pretty sounding bells on them in lots of different colors. She would get a bath every morning and the same pretty smelling oil on her body. Princess got used to her new routine but after a couple of day when she would get to see Ryoma again… this was way way way longer than she had ever been separated from Ryoma and she was lonely. _

_Then it changed again._

**Flashback End**

The hand in my hair slows to a stop and instead moves to wipe the tears from my face. Fuji-senpai's gentle face coming into focus through the water that had built up in my eyes. He didn't interrupt me, just offered me silent comfort and encouragement.

**Flashback 7 Years 1 Month Before (warning beginnings of rape if that bothers you skip to Flashback end)**

_This time dancing was different. The men Princess was dancing for had a funny smell around them and were acting really weird. They were also touching Princess. The men who had watched her dance had never touched her before. One petted her arm when she got close, another grabbed one of her braids and brought it to his face, another petted her back. It was making her nervous. _

_When her dance was done she went to leave the rooms that the older girls could come in like they usually did. Princess didn't know what the girls usually did but one time when she had listened by the door it had sounded like they were having fun… but this time the door was locked. This was very different. _

_One of the men was now sleeping but one of the other two grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him bringing his hand down her side to rest on her hip. The other was in front of her. He put his hand on her knee and slowly brought it up her leg under her skirt until it was touching her over her panties. This was VERY different… and very scary! Princess didn't like this!_

_Princess screamed for help but no one came. The man behind her covered her mouth then ripped off a piece of her skirt and tied it around her mouth making it so she couldn't talk. He then ripped her shirt down the back letting it fall off her shoulders exposing her body. The back-man then grabbed some of her braids and used them to hold her in place while he put his mouth on her shoulders._

_The front-man meanwhile slowly started rubbing over her panties before moving them to the side and putting his finger INISIDE them. He pushed his finger up through the line and inside of her. It felt weird… Princess didn't like it!_

**Flashback End**

By now I KNOW I'm hyperventilating. I keep trying to tell myself that I am no longer there, that I'm safe, I'm in Japan… that none of them can get me. But it isn't working. None of its working!

Then two strong arms wrap around me and pull me into a soft chest. I fight against the arms blindly. _NO I WONT LET THEM TOUCH ME LIKE THAT AGAIN! I WONT LET THEM DO THAT TO ME! _One of the hands goes behind my head and gently pulls it down to a cotton covered shoulder while the other wraps around my stomach and I can fee a face bury itself in my hair. I can feel something warm and wet slowly seaping through my hair and the shoulders my face is resting in are shaking.

I slowly stop fighting and remember where I am. I am in Japan, at my house. I am telling Fuji-senpai my story, that means the person holding me is Fuji-senpai. Fuji-senpai wouldn't hurt me. But what is that on my shoulder… its… tears.

_Fuji-senpai… is crying… for me…_ The only people who had done that were Kaa-chan, Tou-chan , Aniki, and Ryoma… others had felt sorry for me, but none had cried for me… but Fuji-senpai who I had only known for a month or two, he was crying for me… for the 5 year old me who lost her innocence. For the baby who was forced to be an adult. He is crying.

I turn, bury my face in his shoulder, and take one long breath of his scent. A tiny bit of sweat, fabric softener, a slightly sharp minty smell, but under that something else that I couldn't put a name to if I tried… other then Fuji.

And then we are both crying, locked in each other's arms we are both crying for the little 5 year old girl who lost her innocence 7 years ago.

"It's fine," the words are a whisper into my hair but I hear them clear as crystal, "you don't have to tell me anymore."

"Yes I do." He brings his head up to look at my face and I smile sadly. "Don't wory the end is happier and I will skip over the last month of the bad part." He just nods and turns me around so my back is to his chest and he has one leg on either side of me with his face still buried in my hair.

"Ok, you can finish whenever you are ready."

"I was in that place for another month doing just the same thing before they found me. Apparently my dad and mom had pulled lots of strings to get more than just the group of detectives who were investigating the disappearances. Ryoma was able to identify the man who had taken me and through him they found the underground slave ring that had taken me, but it was too late I had already been sold." I take a breath. "They took it down about a week after I left. Heh, but at least it gave them reason to find ALL of the buyers."

"The slave ring took very careful records of each sale and where they went. The police eventually found the records in the thorough search they did of the building and were able to find all of the prostitution houses that had bought children from there. Each House was broken into and the slave prostitutes were taken out to hospital facilities that took care of any health issues that showed up. Mostly psychological. Some of the older girls had been there a lot longer than my 2 months but I was definitely one of the youngest." Fuji-senpai pulls me tighter.

"The entire family lived in one of the facilities for about a year while the different doctors and psychologists helped me. When I was released I was given a special medical bracelet like the ones they give to people with diseases and things. It has a code on it used by hospitals to indicate victims of rape, child abuse, or both. The only times I'm allowed to take it off are during sports practices but even then I have to have it close by." I grab my bag from where it was dropped earlier and take my silver bracelet out of the smallest pocket. The bracelet is delicate-looking but it has never broken. I have had it resized a couple times to add a few new chain links when my wrist grows but the main metal plate is still the same one I was given 6 years ago.

"Even after being released I refused to leave the house for a long time so Ryoma-nii-chan and I were kept at home. But after a year of never leaving the house my parents decided that I needed to at least meet some other children my age. I adamantly refused. Turning me into a boy was actually Ryoma's idea. My new public identity was a combined effort of my parents, my brothers, my special doctor and the family lawyer but eventually the court decided that yes I would be allowed a second male identity as a safety from my trauma. We created the identity of Echizen Ryota so that I could comfortably go outside the house."

"I still refused to go to school but both nii-chan and I had gotten quite good at tennis. Oyaji taught us both along with our older brother how to play and it was one of the only things I could do to get my mind completely off of what happened. Our parents decided to homeschool Ryoma-nii and I but had us participate in a variety of children's tennis tournaments to help us socialize. I was 10 before I could go to school and that was only fully in my Ryota persona. Even then I never left nii-chan's side and never let anyone touch me. When nii-chan and I were old enough to come to Seigaku the family decided to move back to Japan." I pull out of his arms and turn to face him drawing my legs up to my chest and resting my chin on them. Fuji-senpai mirrors my position and we sit in a semi-comfortable silence for about 10 minutes.

"Any questions?"

"What happened to all the people who ran the Ring and the Houses?"

"All were tried in court and put in prison with life sentences by a unanimous court."

"Good." He took my gloved left hand and raised it to my face, "may I see the brand?" I swallow hard but nod my head, this will be the first time anyone other than my family has seen the mark since I was released from the hospital and began to wear gloves on that hand. Fuji-senpai slowly removes the soft leather from my hand and reveals the slightly faded but still distinct brand from the House on the back of my hand. He gently runs his finger over it and I shiver at the foreign touch. After a minute he puts my glove back on my hand rests his chin on my shoulder.

"Please don't treat me any differently than you do now Fuji-senpai." He doesn't speak but I know he's curious about my request. "Everyone treats me differently when they find out, like I'm made of glass or something. Only Ryoma-nii treated me exactly the same. Even my parents treated me far gentler for years until I eventually exploded and told them that I was not some delicate flower that they had to be careful not to break. Please don't treat me any differently." I beg, I hate being reduced to this amount of venerability but I REALLY don't want him to treat me like some porcelain doll. I just want to be normal.

"Alright."

"That's it?"

"Hai, you don't want me to treat you differently. So I will do my best to treat you as I always have and if I am different it won't be treating you like you are delicate. If nothing else your story has told me how incredibly strong you are."

"Arigato, Senpai." I smile tentatively at the older boy. _Maybe we can be friends now that he knows my secret._ "Are you still angry?"

"Angry?"

"At the beginning of the story, when I was kidnapped. You were so angry you were shaking, are you still angry?"

"Hai, I'm even angrier now. But there is nothing for me to direct it at because the bastards already got as much as I could give them. There is nothing I can do, and you didn't need me to be angry. You needed me to understand."

"Arigato." I looked down to where my hands were knitted together in my lap, "so what happens now?"

"Who else knows that you're a girl?"

"The principal (but he doesn't know why), Ryuuzaki-baa-chan (she doesn't know the details, just that I was kidnapped) and my family. Anyone else who knows hasn't notified me that they figured it out."

"Alright, I swear I will not speak of this story to anyone without your express and in person permission."

"Thank you Fuji-senpai." I look over toward our abandoned rackets, "Would you like to finish that game now?" he closes his eyes and his face takes on his normal half-smile as he lets out a funny little relieved laugh. _Something tells me we are going to be just fine._

The game that followed was much smoother and turned out to the most fun I have had in a long time. I think most of that feeling was the relief of finally telling someone who wasn't my family or a doctor my story and knowing that that person doesn't judge me. The rest was all Fuji-senpai, playing Fuji-senpai was exhilarating, fun, and more of a challenge than anyone else ever gave me… even Ryoma-nii-chan. It was uplifting in a way that nothing else had ever been before.

_I hope I can play him again some time._

* * *

**AN) *Deep Breath* I wrote most of the first draft of this chapter between midnight and 2:30 in the morning. I had sort of planned out how the whole kidnapping thing was going to go but I didn't have a definite plan for it… just that it was extremely traumatic… goddess I'm so mean. I tried re-writing this chapter a couple times but none of my other tries gave a realistic reason for a 12 year old girl to be masquerading as a boy. That is most of the reason that this chapter took so long to come out. The rest is that MY SISTER GOT MARRIED LAST WEEKEND! YAY! I honestly think that is what finally got me out of the last bit of depression about how mean I am to Ryoko in this chapter.**

…

**Ok, so deep shit in this chapter… I'm sorry if any of the topics in this chapter offended anyone but I did put a warning in the beginning so please don't just flame my story for this. The rest of this story will not be nearly this depressing and I honestly don't know if I'm going to have any scary things from the past come up later in the story. I'm putting up a poll about that, the choices are:**

Should I have some of the bad stuff from Ryoko's past come back? Or should I not do anything with the past other than continue to have vague references like the glove thing.

Please go to my page to vote on the Poll, I don't know how long it will be up but I will leave it until I get a good number of responses to show all of my reader's opinions. If you have any other ideas about what I should do with her past, please put it into a review or PM.

**Sorry if Fuji and Ryoko were a little out of character in this chapter. I honestly don't think anyone could hear a story like that and not get pretty emotional. Especially if they are hearing it directly from the victim (that is to explain Fuji). The way I wrote to flashbacks was to better try to give the view of the memory of a 5 year old. Also it was kind of detached because I would imagine that she probably spent a lot of time with psychologists trying to separate herself from the memories and so they are probably pretty warped.**

**ANYWAY! Thank You's to all of my wonderful readers! Here are all of my wonderful new story reviewers/followers/favorites:**

**Reviewers: **Mailumia, Yuu(Guest)

**Followers: **MagicWhiz45, strawberrylily, FranscoiseLaraLapis, UchihaShadowGirly, xmercilessxheartx, mittensx7768, galesou, Ms. EXOtic

**Favorites: **FranscoiseLaraLapis, Caelen12, becky157689, The Creator of Worlds, EmollyAbused, mittensx7768, LuvAnime4-Ever, Ms. EXOtic


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